


Breathe

by TheWhoufflePrincess



Category: The Paper Magician Series - Charlie N. Holmberg
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, One Shot Collection, this series is so unappreciated :(, why doesn't this series have more fanfiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-01 03:13:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 31,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13285758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWhoufflePrincess/pseuds/TheWhoufflePrincess
Summary: One-shots revolving the lovely Ceony Twill and Emery Thane. Their adventures and such, some fluff, some angst here and there.(Also published on wattpad & fanfiction.net under the same name)





	1. Unrequited

**Author's Note:**

> Do you know how saddening it is to not see any fanfictions for this series? I saw one on this website, but fanfiction.net and wattpad had none. I'm going to fill that void, damn it.
> 
> I know some people don't use fanfiction.net or wattpad and sometimes those websites end up dying, so I decided to place my one-shots in AO3 too. 
> 
> Most of these revolve Ceony and Emery. 
> 
> Chapters are also not in order with my other two copies of the one-shots on my wattpad and fanfiction.net accounts, as I had difficulty importing the chapters to AO3.
> 
> \--
> 
> hey! so this takes place all through the glass magician. I tweaked some events, so I hope you guys enjoy :)

Ceony knew she was in trouble when she woke up and began to throw up red rose petals onto her quilt one morning, a few days after she had saved her mentor from the hands of Lira. Ceony clutched her quilt, her mind racing to find another reason as to why her body was doing this, but there was no other reason. She knew this concept.

This was how Hanahaki Disease starts.

Hanahaki Disease, as Ceony had read about it, was when a one-sided love blossoms. It is very common in the world for this to occur. The body recognizes the feeling of love and reacts when it is not returned. The patient would throw up or cough up petals. There are two ways to removing this disease, one by surgery, but once that occurs, the feelings dissipate. The surgery was pain free under anesthetics and wasn't much of a cost, as it grew to be common with each case.

Side effects, unfortunately, can happen along with the surgery, i.e, loss of empathy, forgetting the person they love entirely, and/or, the feeling that something is missing deep in one's chest. The other way consists of the other person returning the love to the patient. If she didn't do the surgery or have her love returned, she could die from it.

The problem is, of course, Emery would never return the love to her. It was a petty crush. Ceony looked down on her quilt, which now had beautiful red rose petals on it. She picked some up as she continued to cough more up. Why did this have to happen? Why was she falling in love with him?

She scooped up the petals as she coughed more out, heading towards the rubbish bin. She got on her knees and started to throw them up. It felt strange on her tongue, the petals had no particular taste, so it felt as though she was throwing up air. She hoped she was not coughing loud enough as the petals spilled from her mouth. Her eyes were watering as she continued. She filled about half the rubbish bin when it stopped. She wiped her lips, breathing in heavily.

She could hide this. She could go through her two years as the roses continued to grow in her chest cavity. She could do this.

* * *

Even after Emery's obvious rejection in the apartment, the petals continued to come out of her mouth with ease. It was unfortunate, as then it truly solidified the thought that the love really was one-sided.

Ceony should have been more careful, but she had grown careless as the days went by and Emery never noticed her sudden catch of feelings. Regardless if Emery had been choosing to avoid asking or he was just drafter Ceony originally thought, she was just glad that nobody knew.

But Delilah, of course, Delilah would notice. Delilah herself had gone through the surgery and had thrown up daisy petals when she had fallen for some petty boy. She probably noticed how worse Ceony was starting to look, with her eyes heavier than usual and her difficulty in breathing. Of course. Delilah had not spoken about it, not until after their mirror-hopping. Ceony was about to warn Delilah not to say anything to the Magicians that were arguing inside the room, when Delilah spoke first.

"Who is it?"

"Huh?" Ceony looked up from her fidgeting. Delilah's eyes were worried.

"Who did you fall for?" Delilah asked, with a bit more clarity. Ceony paled. Why now?

"Nobody?" She tried the dumb card, but Delilah wasn't so easily swayed. Delilah shifted to properly face Ceony.

"Who is it?"

"Emery." Ceony answered, just barely a whisper. Delilah, of course, heard it.

"Magician Thane?" Delilah asked, just as Ceony had began to throw up some petals instead of just merely coughing them. Delilah tried catching them with one hand and comforting Ceony with the other. "Oh Ceony, you can't do this!"

"Yes, I can." Ceony said between her fits, "I can do this. I have been. Three months along."

"Ceony! You know this can kill you! Another month and you'll be done for!" Delilah said, "I got the surgery. It was easy. You can do it too."

"I don't care." Ceony said, wiping her mouth as the last of the petals came. Ceony scooped the rose petals up and opened a bag in her purse, stuffing them in. "Magician Aviosky will transfer me. I don't want that over some crush. With that surgery, I could forget Magician Thane; I could be apathetic.

"I know, but Ceony-"

"Not a word. Just like the mirror-hopping. Please. Promise me." Ceony begged.

"I promise." Delilah muttered, just as the meeting doors swung open. Delilah had better keep her promise, Ceony hoped. She had to get through it. As the magicians began to walk out, Delilah popped from her seat once Mg. Aviosky and Emery came along. Ceony hoped Delilah would not say anything as she stood as well.

"I apologize for the delay. Some of us are especially long-winded." Mg. Aviosky greeted, eyeing Mg. Hughes for a moment before returning her look back to the two apprentices. Ceony smiled softly, yawning. She had to make this realistic.

"It was long, and those books are tiresome. I assume I'll hear nothing of what you decided without me?" Ceony's tone had a bit of a sharpness to it, unintentionally. Mg. Aviosky responded for Emery, who looked as though he had something to say.

"Correct, Miss Twill. The less you know, the safer you are. I'll be sure to have you debriefed once things have been settled." Ceony nodded as Emery picked up her stack of books and rested another hand on Ceony's shoulder. She could feel the petals building up.

"Let's go back, we have some things to review." Emery said. Ceony nodded.

Mg. Aviosky stopped the two from leaving as she said, "If you don't mind, Magician Thane, I'd like to speak to Ceony privately for a moment. Only a moment." Ceony noticed how Mg. Aviosky's eyes were trained on her shoulder. She was about to get a lecture, she knew it.

"Very well," Emery said as he removed his hand. Ceony felt the warmth leave her and she felt cold, suddenly. "I'll wait outside." Emery turned on his heel and walked away. Mg. Aviosky gave Delilah a quick order and motioned for Ceony to follow her. They ended up in the women's lavatory.

"When I assigned you as a Folder, I debriefed you on proper apprenticely conduct and what was expected of you once you began your employment under Magician Thane." She began, "Perhaps there are a few things I forgot to mention, such as referring to a Magician by his first name."

Yup. A lecture. "I...I didn't mean to do it, it's just-," but of course, before Ceony could even try to defend herself, she began coughing. She covered her mouth quickly, but there was no use in hiding it. Mg. Aviosky swiftly grabbed onto Ceony's wrist and pulled it down with a surprising amount of force. Her eyes widened to the size of polo balls as the petals came out of Ceony's mouth profusely.

"Miss Twill!" In a flash, Mg. Aviosky went from scolding to caring. She grabbed onto Ceony and held her comfortably as the petals continued to come. It burned. The feeling in her chest was getting worse. Once it stopped, Mg. Aviosky made Ceony's eyes look into hers.

"You need to have the surgery." She sounded so much like Delilah.

"No." Ceony rasped, "I will not."

"You cannot continue like this, Miss Twill."

"I will continue as I please." Ceony said confidently.

"You do not decide-,"

"No!" She manage to shout, despite the pain grasping her chest harder and harder. "I will decide what happens to my body. I can't. Please. God, no. Don't transfer me, don't make me do the surgery, don't do anything." At this point, the petals had stopped. "You don't understand what happened in there. I know his heart better than my own. I feel like I've known him all my life, alright? I love Folding because he showed me. If this is the result of my love to him, so be it." She let out one last cough, a single petal falling onto the floor, before walking away from the Gaffer.

* * *

The third time she had been caught, it was by Grath himself. She had lost herself in Belgium over her stupidity, only for Grath to find her. She had expected to have a duel against her, but instead, she started throwing up petals as Grath found her.

"Petals? You have a one-sided love?" Grath asked, rather than giving her some witty remark. He started to laugh, "Me too." He sounded so normal when he said that.

"Huh?" Ceony managed to ask, but Grath didn't need to explain himself. Purple petals fell from his mouth, but he did not look like he was having trouble. Iris petals began to flow, but as quick as they came, they had stopped coming out.

"How saddening. Who did you fall for? Emery?" When he saw her choke, he smirked, "You fell for him? What a joke."

"What about you?" Ceony asked, thinking she could earn herself more time, maybe the magicians back home were tracking her. "Who did you end up falling for?"

"Why should I tell you?" Grath said, "It's not even important anymore. I've learned to control my petals after the years. It's clear you have not." Ceony decided to throw him off guard.

"Is it Lira?" The fake-Excisioner winced. So it was. But before he could even respond, a voice came from behind.

"We should really stop meeting like this." Ceony breathed out a sign of relief. She was safe. Her secret was safe. For now.

* * *

Langston was the second to last person to see her throw up petals. As Langston drove away, farther from the cottage, the petals wouldn't stop. Langston stopped the car and pulled over the second the petals came. He gave her some water from a closed pitcher and a home-baked cookie, which she was heavily grateful for. After a few moments of reconcile, she answered his questions for him.

"I love him," there was no need to tell him who the pronoun was for. Langston gave her a small smile. "No, I will not go through the surgery. I can handle it." She added firmly. Langston only chuckled.

"I threw up peonies," Langston said, starting the car up again and driving down the cobble road. Ceony looked at him, "when I had fallen in love with this girl, who already had someone in her life. She was engaged. I had gotten surgery right away to avoid trouble, but the peonies came back again, and again, and again, every single time I had seen her. It had come to the point where I had five surgeries in a row and I had lost my affections completely, all because I forgot her. I mean, I know her name and a basic idea what she had looked like, but that's it. I don't remember loving her. Isn't that odd? A simple surgery and you can forget. Sometimes I wish I hadn't. Sometimes I'm glad I did." Langston was opening up to her and she didn't know what to say. Langston continued on instead. "I know you don't want to forget or lose everything, but...I know Magician Thane. The surgery might be your only choice, lest you would rather die."

I'd rather die, Ceony thought. Instead, she said, "Maybe after all of this is over."

Maybe.

* * *

The final time was when the buggy stopped at the train station. Emery was going to fight Saraj. Ceony had already tried begging him to not go, but there was no use. He tucked a stray hair behind her ear and grabbed his suitcase from behind the seat. Ceony watched as he got out of the buggy.

He was walking away from her.

Petals were flowing from her mouth with each step he took. He was going on a suicide mission. She would have to try. She was on her own suicide mission herself anyway. She kicked open the door and despite the petals, she managed to yell, "If you're going to go and get yourself killed, you could at least kiss me first!" The entire sentence had made her fall to her knees, tears spilling from her eyes and the red rose petals spilling faster and faster. They wouldn't stop. They just wouldn't stop. Why now? She looked up slowly and she saw him walking towards her. Oh god, no. No, no, she shouldn't have done this. He knows, he knows, he knows.

He placed his suitcase down beside him. Ceony shakily stood up, meeting his gaze. His eyes were unreadable. The petals had stopped now, but the ones that had fallen had created a pool of red around them. Emery put one hand on Ceony's waist, the other on the unbruised side of her face, wiping the tears that were spilling from her cheeks. Oh god. He tilted his head to the right slowly and brought his lips to hers. Her chest cavity felt lighter, oh so light. She reached for his neck, kissing him exactly how she imagined it. The kiss lasted for only a moment, but it let like centuries. Emery let go, gazed at her, kissed her forehead, then grabbed his suitcase and walked away once more, for good.

The last of the remaining petals spilled from her mouth at that moment, with the very last one being white, signifying that the love was returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now the original plot, I had Ceony undergo the surgery with the constant force of Patrice, but the petals would not go away. instead, I put that into Langston's little story about his experience with Hanahaki Disease. this ended up being the final result. thank you, all of you, who are reading this. I've been so busy with school lately, like AP World History and whatnot. I hope this is satisfactory enough.


	2. Looking at a Goddess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> nothing too explicit, but Emery goes into slight detail about Ceony's anatomy.

It was  _his_  cottage, he did have every right to walk around and snoop. Though, he often expected to walk around the place without having any sort of issue...especially in the privacy department. Ceony changed into her outfits either in her old room or in the bathroom after a shower due to modesty. They weren't married yet, so they still haven't seen each other naked. So when Emery had passed by the slightly ajar door of their shared bedroom and heard humming, he stopped walking and looked through, his curiosity getting ahead of his mind.

Ceony had recently purchased a vanity and was using it to her full extent, but this was the first time he saw her use it for something besides makeup, whatever she was doing. She only wore a simple ivory dressing robe, her hair still slightly wet from her shower. No makeup, just absolutely regular Ceony. His lover. His beautiful, resilient, and absolutely fantastic lover. The ocean color that made up her eyes were absolutely hypnotizing and even if he was standing in the doorway, they were were so intense, drawing him in, but he had self control.

He watched carefully as she continued to not be aware of his presence, looking at herself in the mirror, head moving from side to side. She touched her face, starting from her temples and sliding down to her cheekbones, then her chin. She frowned slightly, as if her face did not give her satisfaction. He was ready to step in and make a comment of how lovely her facial features were, but then things excelarated.

Ceony, without warning, removed the robe, allowing it to fall onto the floor unceremoniously. Emery nearly choked on air, his emerald eyes widening at the sight. Emery had never seen Ceony stark naked. His heart raced ever so quickly, his breathing hastening. His eyes trailed from her feet up to her face, his mind memorizing every curve and crevice of her olive skin. He was amazed at how the light seemed to compliment her features, the soft glow causing her to look like an angel coming down from heaven. His angelic savior.

His eyes raked her body once more as he noticed the small way her breasts melted into her chest, the way her muscles contracted as she moved her limbs- it was just so...human, or perhaps the word he was looking for was feminine. The way her behind just curved so beautifully- it wasn't an overwhelming size but it also wasn't quite flat. It was just right. She was just right. His Ceony, absolutely flawless.

Now he had two choices. He could walk on his merry way, pretending he just never saw this, but the creaking of the floorboards would give away his position. But he couldn't continue to stare at the beautiful creation that was Ceony unbeknownst to her, as she would take it the wrong way and a misunderstanding was bound to happen.

But he just stared, for a bit longer, watching her run her hands down her sides and stomach. He knew she needed her privacy, he shouldn't be thinking of impure thoughts of that sort- not until they were married, of course.

He was about to leave her to it when Fennel ran by towards him and in his surprise, he lost his footing and stumbled into the room. He let out a curse as he fell, just catching himself before his head to land onto the floor with a thunk. Ceony gasped, quickly grabbing her robe and covering her front.

"Emery! Have you ever heard of privacy?" He got up swiftly, glaring at the paper creation that stood by Ceony. He looked to her and she was clearly a mix of emotions, but for the most part, embarrassment was obvious.

She wanted him to see her in the nude, of course, but not yet. They needed to get married and well, all the other small things in-between. Besides, she felt like a very uncomfortable and extremely unsexy mess. She didn't get the chance to exercise yet, and the excessive amount of tea and biscuits she shared with Emery made her feel bloated.

"I..." He cleared his throat, adjusting his long coat. "I heard you humming. I didn't know you were changing. Sorry." Her facial expression softened, realizing his genuine concern.

"It's alright. Just...you know, knock next time." She said, tightening the robe around her, the room suddenly feeling cold.

He nodded at that, prepared to leave but then his mouth acted faster than his feet.

"You look absolutely stunning, Ceony." She blinked at that, as though she misheard him.

"Really?" He took several tentative steps forward until he was just a comfortable step away. Emery brought his hands to her cheeks, cupping them and gently caressing them with the pads of his thumbs.

"What do you mean, really? I mean it." Emery looked puzzled and Ceony huffed.

"I just came from the shower, no makeup, nothing. I don't even have clothes to hide ugly body shape. What are you talking about?" She muttered and Emery stared at her, surprised.

"Ceony, you are a goddess. Everything about you is so divine, with or without makeup, with or without clothes. You are the very definition of beauty." She smiled softly at that, and he continued, deciding to quote Shakespeare, "I do love nothing in the world so well as you." Her cheeks reddened and her smile was wider. She felt a hell of a lot better about herself now.

"Is this how you treat all the women in your life?" She joked, trying to diffuse the situation before they started to head down south.

"If I treated Patrice like this, that would be a whole different story." He responded, stepping and allowed his lips to come to hers. At some point, she stopped the kiss, their noses bumping against one another. The robe had fallen during their little kiss and Ceony bent to pick it up, but Emery stopped her.

"I wouldn't mind if you were naked. There isn't anyone here besides a paper dog." Emery murmured, gesturing to Fennel, who had fallen asleep on the vanity chair and Ceony giggled.

"There is such a thing as too keen, Emery." Ceony responded, picking up the robe regardless and putting it on. "I still need to prepare dinner and I can't do it in the nude. Now shoo." She gently pushed Emery away lightly, smirking. Emery complied, but not before he stopped at the doorway to plant a kiss atop her head.

"That sounds lovely. I'll prepare the table." He walked off into the corridor, but then he turned and looked back to her with so much loving. Ceony felt overwhelmed with the love that came from his emerald eyes. "Oh, and Ceony? I love you."

"I love you too."


	3. The Intoxicated Banquet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> slightly messy story. its nothing that explicit, but it does involve being under the influence and drunk decisions.

Ceony looked at her glass, feeling an odd sense of worry. This was the first banquet she had attended with Emery as a magician and she was hesitant on drinking. The only other banquet she had ever attended was when she catered it herself and she couldn't understand someone just drinking purely for sport. Perhaps she got her dislike of alcohol ever since Sinad Mueller let his grubby hand up her skirt. Whatever the case was, she just wasn't fond of wine anymore.

She could, however, spot a young Bennet Cooper walking around, asking each table if there was anything he could do to make the place more comfortable for them. He spotted her and went to her table. He glanced at the wine glass and frowned for a moment, then smiled at Ceony. "Ceony, hello!" He whispered, bringing his attention to her.

"Bennet! I didn't know you were catering the event." Ceony greeted. Bennet smiled.

"They decided to cut back spending and made the apprentices do the labor. Though the nearby culinary school is catering the food portion." Bennet explained and then glanced at her wine glass again. Ceony raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something on my wine glass?" Ceony asked him and he bit his lip. He seemed to be having an internal conflict with himself.

"Please, Ceony. Whatever you do, don't drink it. When Tagis Praff does the toast, just don't drink it." He blurted out and Ceony was about to ask him what was wrong, but he scurried away. She hazily recalled the idea of a joke towards all the magicians when Ceony was catering the event several years prior. She remembered nobody seemed to have the guts to do this prank, but it appears finally, they were going to do it, with the help of all the apprentices. She couldn't tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Emery came afterwards, breaking her train of thought. He was grinning at her, especially in his eyes.

"What got you all chipper?" Ceony asked and Emery sighed.

"I'm just happy you're here. I started to feel bad when I left the cottage to go here." Emery shrugged, "Personally, I dislike-" before Emery could finish his sentence, Tagis Praff was up on stage, grabbing everyone's attention. The Pyre lights started to focus on him.

"Thank you all for coming." Tagis Praff said, "Congratulations on another successful school year and many of the new magicians." Ceony saw Emery glance at her and squeeze her hand, his eyes showing pure joy for her. "As customary, we will all give ourselves a toast." Everyone picked up their glass. Ceony was hesitant. She saw Magician Aviosky, who was right beside her, have the same hesitance. Emery even lifted his glass. She supposed he only drank alcohol in banquets like these, as she couldn't find any at the cottage.

"To another year." Tagis Praff said and everyone agreed, all of them taking their drink in one gulp. The lights grew brighter, to make the huge banquet hall bright again. She could see the men and women of the banquet feel a strange surge when they had taken the drink in just one gulp. Some shook in their seats.

"That was stronger than I recalled." Mg. Hughes said, frowning. "It actually tasted more like a strange concoction of Smirnoff and a red wine." He glanced up at Ceony and Mg. Aviosky, "Patrice, don't you usually drink when Tagis does his toast?"

"I decided not to." Patrice responded, lips pursed.

"And you, Ceony?" Mg. Hughes asked, already calling for his next glass. An apprentice immediately came and poured him another glass of whatever it was.

"I'm not into drinking, hah..." She said, shaking her head.

"You're not wrong Alfred. Do you think perhaps they did something to the drink?" Emery said, peering into his now empty glass. "Though oddly, it doesn't taste that bad. Addicting, even." Patrice looked at Emery, as if she had something to say, but instead grabbed Ceony by the wrist and pulled her away, taking her near the back of the hall. Patrice stopped at the very back and put her hands on Ceony's shoulders.

"Bennet told you something. What was it?" Her voice had a sense of urgency. So she did overhear, or perhaps had the suspicion something was indeed up.

"I think I know what the culinary students and apprentices are doing." Ceony explained, "There was an idea of a sort of prank against the magicians in the room floating around. I think they've finally initiated it. Bennet warned me before I could take sip."

"Alfred knows his drinks." Patrice said, letting go of Ceony. "If he could tell there was Smirnoff in that drink, there probably is. I am going to get whoever is in charge of this...prank."

"They'll deny it. You can't do anything until the effects settle," Ceony said, "They'd say you're ruining the party." Patrice sighed.

"You're right." Patrice said, looking at the banquet hall. Everyone was drinking at this point. "Personally, I think I might actually enjoy watching this."

"Magician Aviosky!"

"What?" Patrice leaned against the wall, shrugging. "There are some people I absolutely despise. I'm interested in hearing them drunk." If Ceony saw her first glance, she would probably think Patrice was drunk herself. She was never laid back like this. Perhaps it was because nobody but Ceony would see her demeanor fall? "I'm actually interested in seeing Emery drunk as well. He's very seldom in his drinking. This will be quite the learning experience for me."

Ceony felt her cheeks turn red. "O-Of course, isn't he a gentleman?"

"I do wonder if the effects of the alcohol do change that." Patrice said, "But I am worried everyone here will have a hard time working tomorrow. I don't want to have to hold everyone's weight for the day. Imagine, every magician in this room having a headache the following day." Patrice paused, "Actually, I think I'm scared of what they'll do in the first place."

"I think you'll be too late for that." Ceony commented, seeing the apprentices continually give the magicians the strange concoction. It was going to be a long night.

Ceony wasn't wrong. A good amount of the magicians couldn't control themselves, as the night dragged on. A good amount were merely asleep, but a lot of them were...drunk, to put it bluntly. Bennet saw Ceony and Patrice standing there, watching the intoxicated guests. He walked towards them sheepishly.

"Oh, thank goodness you didn't drink it." He looked at Patrice, "Magician Aviosky, I swear it wasn't my idea."

"I know. But don't count the apprentices having control over the banquet next year." She said and Bennet nodded.

"I think Magician Thane was looking for you, Ceony. I also think he took too much at one time." Bennet said and pointed over to where Emery seemed to indeed, be looking for Ceony. She fiddled with her wedding ring and bit her lip.

"I don't think he'll rest until you're there." Patrice commented, "You should go before he...takes a darker turn." Ceony nodded, resigned. She walked towards the mess of drunk magicians, who were sure to have a hangover afterwards.

"Ah! Ceony!" Emery slurred, haphazardly grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the banquet, going through the main door of the banquet hall and went around the building. Emery seemed to have some sort of direction, as if he knew this place without even thinking. Maybe he did?

"Emery, where are we going?"

"You'll see." He murmured, until the banquet racket was no longer heard. Where the hell was he taking her? Emery seemed to stop at a door. The name plate besides the door was 'Thane, Emery.'

"Is this your office?" Ceony asked as he fumbled to search for keys in his large crimson red coat. The banquets were held in the Cabinet's main headquarters. Tagis Praff has them for free, as without Tagis Praff's school, there wouldn't even be a Cabinet. The main headquarters held all of the Cabinet functions, like Criminal Affairs. The Parliament building was one place the Cabinet worked in, but this one was even larger.

"My old one, yes." He said, finding the keys. "I haven't..." He paused, "I haven't been in here in several years.." He unlocked the door and allowed Ceony to step in first. Despite Emery's home being a mess, this place put the cottage to shame. Books were scattered on the floor, papers all over the desk, as if someone had a mental breakdown in the room. A thin layer of dust covered everything, including all paper creations. The bookshelves looked disorganized and near them lay even more books, as if someone had forcibly torn them out. There was a story to this and Ceony really did want to know.

Ceony, however, didn't have any time to drink the atmosphere in or even utter a syllable as Emery rushed her towards the desk, leaning against her, arms holding himself up from being fully on top of behind, she could see Emery had closed the door. She could hear the papers crunch underneath her weight, but for the most part, it was dead quiet besides their breaths. It was hard to study him well, as the only light was the moonlight coming from a window on the left side. From what Ceony could see, Emery was absolutely wasted, but he had enough thought process to...do this? His emerald eyes looked dark, but soft on the edges. Hungry, but hesitant. It seemed that his mind was trying to piece what he was doing. Two parts of him seemed to be fighting. One wanted this, badly, while the other was trying to refrain from being passionate.

He tilted his head slightly to the left as started to trail kisses starting from the crook of her neck, stopping at one point to roughly suck on her neck, then he made it up to her lips. Ceony felt her cheeks flush and she could hear her heartbeat in her ears clearly, blocking out any sort of noise. He was like a sloppy romantic. It was interesting and she...liked it. Ceony did, however, bite back any noise she could make, as she didn't want to entice him further.

She had restraint. Emery, surprisingly, didn't.

It was strange seeing him so...relaxed. Well, he was always relaxed, but he always held some set of gentlemanly rules when around her. Sometimes it frustrated her, really. But now, it seemed that he had forgotten that very set of rules and became unwound, looking very debauched as well.

He didn't give her time to respond to his sudden movements when he finally brought his lips up to hers. It started soft, as if he was testing the waters, then it swiftly switched to a rushed one. It was sloppy, but had a sense of refinement in it. Ceony had a hard time processing this. She wasn't drunk, but she could taste the alcohol on his soft lips, as if telling her to keep going with it. Her arms seemed to have a mind of their own as they wrapped around his warm neck, bringing him closer. Her legs as well, as they wrapped around his waist. Her hands found their way to his short hair and the hands ruffled them. Surprisingly, it had an effect as Emery held them even closer, if that was even humanly possible.

They let go for air and Ceony still had her arms around his neck when her reasonable side came up yet again. What was she doing?

"Emery, I..." She hesitated and looked up at him in the moonlight. He looked so handsome with his hair all ruffled as he took short breaths of air in. She always wanted him to forget she was a lady in their own home, but she couldn't do this. The temptation existed, but she didn't even know if this was just the alcohol talking or it was his true want. She had to guess that he probably did want this, as the alcohol worked from his emotions, but she decided it would be best sober. "I think we should stop."

Emery seemed to be processing the words.

"I want this and I wouldn't hesitate to do it, but I think it would be better if you weren't intoxicated. I don't know if it's really you or the alcohol talking. I don't want you to make any rash decisions." Ceony continued, biting her lip. She knew they would have children in the long run, based on the fortunity box that she kept, but this was just wrong. She didn't want it this way and she was sure he wouldn't either.

He looked disappointed, but nodded slowly as Ceony let go of him. He stumbled, wordlessly, out the door. He took one step to the left before he collapsed onto the floor. Ceony went to him and crouched by his side, "Oh Emery..." She murmured, picking him up. He wasn't quite light, but Ceony could manage. In his office, there was a couch. She moved all the junk that lay and placed him carefully down, a pillow supporting his head.

She sat in the opposite chair and touched her lips. Emery was sincerely passionate during that moment, but she couldn't let him make a decision she wasn't sure he wanted. She moved the chair to be beside him and held his hand. "One day, Emery. Just not when you've drunk a mixture of vodka and wine."

She slowly fell asleep, leaning against the comfy chair, holding his hand tightly as if it was the last thing in the universe.

* * *

 

The first thing Emery felt was a splitting headache in between his two brows. He never had a headache during these banquets. He'd only drink one glass of wine and be satisfied. What had happened? He felt like he was going to die in the next five minutes with this headache.

Ceony.

He sat up abruptly, only for the headache to hit him even harder. He groaned and opened his eyes, seeing a hand over his. Using his other hand, he rubbed his eyes. He looked to the side and found Ceony sleeping, her head leaning to the left. He then noticed a bruise on her neck. When did that happen? He looked around his surroundings. They weren't in the cottage. They were in his old office. Why?

"Mmmm." Ceony murmured, her eyes blinking. She probably felt her hand being moved. "Emery?"

"Ceony, I..." He was figuring out his words, but the headache was bothersome. Ceony woke up fully, rubbing her eyes with her free hand. "What happened?"

Ceony's cheeks turned rosy.

"Do you not remember?"

"It's a real haze." Emery said, "I only recall leading you here. Everything else is mush."

"Well." Ceony pursed her lips in a way Patrice did.

"Ceony."

"Well...youtriedtoadvanceyourselfontomeandIhonestlyreallywanteditbutatthesametimeyouweredrunkandreallythatwouldbetakingadvantageofyourcurrentsituationsoItoldyounoandyouseemedprettydisheartenedbutyoupassedoutbeforeyoucouldtakeanotherstep." She said, smiling sheepishly. Emery didn't seem to understand a single word of it.

"You're going to have to speak a little slower, Ceony." He said, clutching his head as he sat up properly, leaning against the couch.

"You made an advancement onto me, if that makes sense." Ceony said. Emery paled. She noticed and raised her hands in surrender. "Don't worry, you stopped when I told you to stop. But then you passed out."

"Ceony..." Emery murmured, "I'm so sorry." This was not how he would have allowed things to go in regards to that. That wasn't his style. It just wasn't.

"It's alright, Emery. It was the alcohol." Ceony said, chuckling nervously. "Besides, we didn't do anything serious."

"How did you know the alcohol was going to do that?" Emery asked, "You didn't drink."

"Bennet warned me ahead of time. I wasn't sure what he meant, so I didn't tell any of you. I probably should have."

"Mm, yes, you really should have." Emery's eyes shone with a slight bit of amusement, but pain still was on his mind, along with a sense of regret. She then remembered he probably had a bad headache.

"We can go back to the banquet hall and get you some water?" She suggested and Emery nodded, got up, and groaned in slight pain. She stood up and took his hand, leading him back to the banquet hall, remembering each turn he took.

The banquet hall was absolutely trashed, different magicians either trying to get over their hangovers or some were still just asleep. Patrice's voice rang through the hall, apprentices of different crafts standing in a straight line, along with the culinary students. They looked terrified. Ceony couldn't see her facial expression, but she had guessed it was absolutely scarring.

"-and how dare you mix vodka with red wine!?" She was yelling at them, "There are many important people in this ballroom. You could have easily killed them! Luckily for you, they did not! We would have been on a serious problem if every magician had dropped dead! Would you like not being a magician anymore? Is that what you want?"

"Magician Aviosky-" A Polymaker apprentice tried to speak, but she would not let him at all.

"I will have none of your excuses!" Patrice said, "You will clean up this mess and apologize to each and every magician you brought this onto!"

"Patrice! Some of us are trying to get over our headaches! Could you yell at them a little quieter?" Emery yelled across the hall, stumbling. He would have fallen if it were not Ceony holding him up. Patrice turned around and sighed.

"Nobody else is going to yell at these soon-to-be-apprentices and chefs!" She looked back at the terrified students, "Now go and do what I asked." They all scurried away, doing what she requested. Patrice picked up a glass of water from a table and walked towards Emery and Ceony. She gave him the glass, which he gratefully took. She also did glance at Ceony's neck, but said nothing.

"I assume everyone had lost it?" Ceony asked as she sat Emery down in a chair. She stood besides Patrice as they watched the apprentices frantically help the drunken guests.

"Once you two both had...left to do whatever it was, it was getting out of hand." Patrice said, frowning. "I had to stop it before they gave Magician Hughes too many drinks. That man has a limit, he tried to pretend it didn't exist. A lot of the magicians were already knocked out as it was. I decided not to scold the apprentices and students until now, as their fear would be better used now, cleaning and helping."

"Sorry I didn't help, Emery was just..." Ceony bit her lip.

"Spare me the details." Patrice responded, her eyes narrow.

"We didn't do anything like that, if that's what you're assuming!" Ceony quickly said, realizing what Patrice was thinking.

"I wasn't assuming anything." Patrice pursed her lips, then said, "But judging by that...bruise, on your neck, I do beg to differ, Ceony. I'm not stupid."

"Wait, what?" Ceony shook her head, slightly confused. "It was just really eventful. That's all." Ceony said, feeling her cheeks flush. Bennet came forward, with another glass of water and an aspirin in hand to give to Emery.

"I'm really sorry about tonight. I would have stopped them if I had known about it. When I came into the kitchen, they were almost done with the seventh vodka bottle to mix in the large pitcher of red wine." Bennet said, handing the glass and aspirin to Emery. He gladly accepted it and drank the water in one gulp. He too looked at her neck. What the hell was on there?

"Once again, Mr. Cooper, hardly your fault. I will get to the bottom of who allowed this to occur." Patrice shook her head disapprovingly. "You know what, no. I'm going to do it right now." Patrice marched to the kitchen.

"I should probably follow her. She was absolutely furious a few minutes ago." Bennet said, excusing himself, walking towards the direction Patrice went into. Ceony took a seat besides Emery and he smiled softly.

"I am never going to one of these, ever again." He murmured, leaning back against his chair.

"But you're going to have to." Ceony added on and Emery only nodded.

"I promise I'll make it up to you. It must have shocked you to see me like that." Emery said, putting an arm around her neck.

"I don't know, I think the sloppy kisses on my neck were nice." Ceony shrugged, comfortably nestling herself in Emery's company.

"Oh goodness, I did that? Really?" Emery pieced together everything as he ran a hand through his hair. "So then I gave you a hickey too. That's the bruise on your neck."

"You did what?" Ceony asked, eyes widening.

"Oh, you can't see it. Right." He looked over to her and touched an area on her neck that felt slightly tender.

"Emery, everyone's going to see it and assume we..." She trailed off, gritting her teeth.

"It'll be fine." He said, "They can't expect anything else from us." He pulled her hand that wore the engagement ring up. "They can't blame us."

"Oh really now?"

"A loving couple should be able to satisfy one another. Who cares if they can see it?" Emery grinned, proud of his thought up answer. Ceony rolled her eyes, pulling him closer to her.

"Whatever you say, dear."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the ending is a bit uncomfortable, I know.


	4. Restless Evenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ceony has a hard time sleeping and Emery comforts her. Pure fluff.

t felt only like yesterday when Ceony shook Tagis Praff's hand. It felt only like yesterday when Ceony said yes to Emery's proposal. It felt exhilarating, to say the least, as she glanced at the gold ring that situated itself around her left ring finger. It was made by a Smelter, as the metal in the ring would change in size if Ceony's finger increased or decreased in size. It was also resistant to the elements, so it was durable. When she showed the ring to Magician Aviosky, she recalled her speaking about how every Smelter's ring has several magical properties that made it different from regular engagement rings.

_"It increases and decreases by size, if your ring finger gets too small or too wide." Mg. Aviosky explained, "It also bears against the elements well. Though, it will start to crack if your marriage starts to fall apart. The ring can detect the malice in your heart and can tell you if you two are truly for one another. If the ring becomes separate pieces, it believes you aren't compatible at all."_

_"How do you know all this?" Ceony asked, knowing that the magician wasn't married or ever 'opened her heart to someone.'_

_"I had a colleague who married with a Smelter ring. She was a Smelter herself and explained the properties to me." Mg. Aviosky explained, frowning._

_"What happened to her then? You speak about her in the past tense." Ceony pointed out._

_"Her marriage crumbled apart and so did she."_

_"She crumbled apart?"_

_"She was never the same ever since. Left her life and ran off. When you lose the one you are sure you love, it does things to you, Ceony. Whether it be death or just simply life taking its toll, they're both equally as bad." Mg. Aviosky looked at her dead in the eyes, "Don't be like her. She didn't talk it out with her fiancé. Don't let the anger build up, don't let it break you two apart."_

Ceony never found herself in the thought of losing Emery, not by death, but by arguments and such. The married life seemed so nice, considering what she witnessed with her family. Her father and mother were able to pull together what they could and they may not have a Smelter's wedding ring, but their ring wouldn't have too many cracks.

She frowned and started to think of the positives. She wasn't going to lose Emery to arguments. He had only yelled at her during several occasions, and she deserved it. It was her recklessness that got the job done, but worried Emery greatly and led him to shouting at her.

But would he yell at her again? What would be his reason?

She shook her head and decided to think about something else. No good thinking about 'if' situations.

It had only been two months. Two months, finally moving out her bedroom and into his. Emery was still a gentleman regardless and only allowed her to be beside him in bed. Even if she didn't hold the title of 'apprentice', he still refused to go beyond a sultry kiss. She sighed and returned to folding laundry, thinking of these past few years.

It amazed her how she progressed so far at her age. She gained and lost. She gained Emery's favor, she gained the ability to change her bond, she gained friends in different places, but at the same time, she lost so much. Anise still haunted her memories, as well as Delilah and countless others. Ceony didn't regret losing Lira, Grath, and Saraj as much, but it amazed her that in the span of three years, so much blood was shed. How much of it was innocent? How much of it wasn't?

"You've been folding and unfolding that shirt for the past two minutes. I know Folding works on paper, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't work on cloth." A voice pulled her from her thoughts and she looked up, seeing Emery leaning against the door frame, newspaper in one hand. His arms were crossed and he had a playful look in his eyes.

"Oh." She looked down at the shirt and folded it properly, placing it beside her. She picked up another shirt and Emery walked towards her, stopping her before she could continue on.

"You're thinking again." Emery's smile faltered, as if he knew what she was thinking without having her say anything. "Ceony, how many times do I have to tell you-" he crouched down, hands in hers. "That they aren't a threat anymore. Everything is peaceful."

"I know but... I can't help it. I keep thinking about Delilah, how I couldn't help her. Anise still remains in my memory. Everything that's happened is still in my memory." She frowned, looking into Emery's concerned eyes. "It haunts me in my nightmares. I don't wake up to them, but they still hurt equally as much." It wasn't like the dream of Delilah a few months ago when she was still an apprentice. They've never been that violent, not anymore, ever since she started sleeping in Emery's bed.

"That's in the past Ceony and you know it." Emery paused, before adding on, "I know that you shake in your sleep and hold onto me tightly." He revealed. Ceony stared at him, mouth slightly agape. "It happens frequently, actually. I planned to ask you about it, but I wasn't sure it would be a good idea to do so."

"I do?" Ceony asked, slightly confused. She never thought of the possibility of her nightmares leaking into the present.

"It's been happening for a month now." He sighed, rubbing her knuckles. "How bad are they?"

"It's just memories, going back and forth, switching between the worst. It always starts so wonderful." She closed her eyes, recalling the dream in which she and Emery were taking care of their children that she wanted to have. "Then it warps, into something terrible." The dream shifted in which Lira, Grath, or Saraj would steal the childrens' hearts from their chests and laugh the same way they had did before. She shivered at the thought.

"I'm here for you Ceony. I'm not leaving you, not ever. I'm not going to lose any more." Emery said, the last bit more to himself rather than her.

"I know." Ceony murmured, running a hand through his short hair. It was still short and it honestly bothered her a little bit, but it made him handsome and gentlemanly nonetheless. He smiled softly at her and stood up abruptly.

"Now! I think dinner is in order to calm the tremors of your thoughts." Emery said, leading her away from the stuffy bedroom. He made his way to the kitchen and said, "I'll cook this time."

"Oh, Emery." Ceony chuckled, "You? Cook?"

"You made the food better here, but I can still cook." He said, letting go of her hand and stood in front of the stove.

"You would have died without me cooking for you." Ceony teased, gently pushed him out of the way.

"Is that a challenge, Miss Twill?" Emery asked, pure child-like excitement in his eyes.

"Mr. Thane, I believe I'm the cook here." Ceony said, "I'll challenge you anytime."

The cooking challenge ended up turning to a large mess. They gave up in the first half and decided to collectively cook something together, to avoid making a bigger mess. They ended up eating some rosemary chicken they both worked on together with some bread Ceony had made. They also had a friendly debate determining which magic was the most useful or interesting to learn. Emery had stuck to paper and ultimately ended it with, "Can metal, rubber, fire, polymaking, or glass make beautiful items, or perhaps bring to life paper creatures?" Ultimately, he got her there. He did make an impressive argument. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, commenting that she needed to brush up on her debate skills. He cleaned the dishes and told her to rest. She considered arguing, but Emery would probably have none of it.

Fennel followed Ceony through the cottage and to the bedroom. Emery promised that he would join her in a bit, but Ceony knew he would turn in late. He always did, but she always knew that she would see him in the morning, arms wrapped around her protectively. She washed her face and changed into more suitable sleeping wear. She slipped into bed, Fennel sleeping near her feet, and fell asleep.

The first thing she felt was how cold it was. She could feel the ice cold air hit her bare skin. She rubbed her arms, trying to rid herself of the gooseflesh creeping up on her.

This dream didn't hold any sort of happy beginning, it was just straight to the point. She blindly led her way through the darkness, stumbling occasionally. Finally, for what felt like forever, she heard a voice. The darkness warped to Mg. Aviosky's office, Mg. Aviosky sitting down and Ceony standing in across from her.

"You're being transferred, Miss Twill." Mg. Aviosky's voice rang through the darkness. "You failed your magician's test and the mandate regarding opposite sex apprenticeships passed already. I'm sorry."

Her throat hitched. She stopped walking. That was just a fear when she was having during her final. It didn't happen anymore. She was a magician regardless and a simple mandate was not a problem to her. She walked away from the memory, stumbling into another.

Her home in the Mill Squats. It was burning, smoke coming out of the windows. Policemen lay dead on the floor. She ran to it, only for the door to swing open. Saraj came out, four hearts floating in one hands In the other, he held Margo's body by the throat. Margo looked terrified. "Ceony..." Margo tried to say, but the grip on her throat was strong. He gave her a lopsided smile and snapped her neck, right in front of Ceony.

"No!" She shouted, trying to rush for Margo, but an invisible wall kept her from doing so. He harvested her heart, adding to his collection.

"I keep my promises." Saraj laughed as the image disappeared. She felt weak in the knees, but continued to walk. This was all fake. Emery had lacerated him. It was all fake.

She stepped into the apartment they resided in the city when Grath and Saraj were still threats. Emery and herself say in the sitting room, when Emery had told her she was merely an apprentice. She remembered shedding only two tears.

"I don't—Ceony, I  _don't_  return the same feelings." It was Emery this time. She paused, eyes wide in the darkness. "Just finish your apprenticeship. It would be best if we do not speak after it."

She felt hot tears stream down her face. The one fear she had always considered. Emery, never returning the feelings she had so desperately clung onto. Despite that fear being solved as Emery did return those feelings, she couldn't help but entertain the thought of him leaving.

"Please, just stop this wretched nightmare." She slowly sank to her knees, at the mercy of these fears. "Please, no more. No more."  _Don't show me our marriage failing, please._ _Don't let me see the ring cracking and breaking into pieces. Don't let it fall. Please._ Her heart couldn't handle it anymore.

"Ceony!" Emery's voice woke her up. She was no longer in that darkness and was on the bed. He was on top of her, holding her shoulders down. She looked up at him, feeling wet tears on her cheeks. "Oh Ceony, are you alright?"

"I..." She was at a loss for words. Emery let her go, shifting to now sit beside her. Ceony slowly sat up, allowing Emery to guide her into his lap, holding her in his arms to embrace her tightly from the waist. He buried his face in her hair, frowning. He was still in his clothes from earlier, seeming to haven't have changed clothes at all.

"Fennel came for me, in the study." Emery explained, "Wouldn't let me be and led me here. You were crying silently, but then you started to thrash about. I got worried. What happened?"

"It was different." Ceony managed to say after several deep breaths. "It wasn't Anise or Delilah. God, it sounds so stupid now."

"Nothing you say is stupid Ceony." Emery assured, keeping her close.

"My fears. That's what I dreamed of. I dreamed that I didn't pass my magician's test. My family, getting killed by Saraj. I..." She laughed, but there was no mirth in it. "This is really stupid but..." She paused, "I dreamed you didn't return my feelings and told me to never speak to you when I passed my magician's test." She glanced at Emery and saw him furrow his brow, eyes closed, taking in the information.

"You passed your test, first of all." He finally said, looking towards the framed certificate that was besides Emery's near the far corner of the room. "Second, Saraj is dead. We saw him die. Your family is safe. And Ceony," He looked at her with the upmost seriousness, shifting her so she faced him, but still held her hand.

"I have never been unsure about you in my entire life. I want you to be my wife. I want you to be with me until I die. I want to see our children grow. You are my everything, Ceony." His eyes glimmered in the dim candlelight, actually tearing up slightly. Emery looked to be on the verge of tears. "I may be a talented Folder, but at feelings, I fail greatly. I didn't realize how much you took a toll on me until after. I was stupid. But now I know."

"Emery-"

"I know now how much of an idiot I was. I can't excuse myself for that. But now, I can make it right." He kissed her on the forehead, "It just takes time, but if you'll have me, I'm glad to be on this adventure with you." A tear rolled down his cheek and Ceony brushed it off with her thumb.

"I love you." Ceony said, keeping her hand cupped to his cheek.

"I love you too."

And after that, Ceony's nightmares subsided.

They became happier fantasies of the future.


	5. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ceony is absolutely tired of waiting for Emery and takes initiative during Christmas.

Another day passes and Ceony has grown tired of waiting.

She was impatient, as she always was. She admitted that two years ago, when Emery was only two months into his new job.

Originally, she felt like it was a good idea for Emery to get a job. He'd get out of the house more and perhaps enjoy people yet again. He was traveling around England and parts of the world in order to gain more traction towards Folding, as apprentices complained that they were forced into the craft. As he was a talented Folder, Tagis Praff and even the Cabinet sought him out for the job. He reluctantly agreed and went along.

She believed that he was doing the right thing and made herself believe that for the first few bits, but as the letters came by, they started to become blander and blander, as though writing a letter to his family was more of a task on the list rather than something he desired to do. Hell, it even seemed like he didn't want anything to do with the family. His last letter seemed so dismissive, if one could even call it a letter. It was like a short response, without much to say about it:

_Merry Christmas. I won't be able to come, I'm sorry. I've been requested at more schools. Send Bristol and Alexander my regards._

_-Mg. Thane_

He didn't even sign it with a 'love, Emery.'

When she received the letter, her small, trembling hands almost ripped it into shreds, but the children were in the room and would be able to put two and two together. The small little details bothered her, but she supposed she shouldn't complain. She knew he was alive and was working for their children as he did send money every week consistently, but with every single pound that was sent, it felt as though she was losing a bits of her lover.

Ceony had to take care of Bristol and Alexander by herself with Emery's departure. Patrice or her family came by occasionally to help or chat. Her heart ached for her husband despite her original insistence of the job, but he didn't seem to be coming anytime soon. The children were old enough to understand that their father won't be coming for awhile, but that didn't stop Alexander from asking. They were small versions of Emery, with the appearance to match. The children shared small little details with their mother, like freckles and their facial type, but for the most part, it was all Emery, wild raven hair and emerald eyes; they looked so much like him. Even in personality during some moments, but it was a mixed bag as they were still growing.

"Mummy, is Daddy coming for Christmas?" Ceony looked towards Alexander as Bristol huffed at the dinner table. Alexander gave him a look, "What?"

"You ask that question every day. You already know the answer." Bristol responded, shaking his head as though Alexander was incredibly stupid. Bristol was always the analytical one between the two and Alexander was more emotionally driven. Alexander tossed a pea towards Bristol, which earned him a glare from his mother. Bristol rolled his eyes and finished his food.

"I want Daddy back." Alexander muttered through chews. "He keeps saying he'll come back but Christmas is in two days."

"He might surprise us." Ceony responded, but her tone betrayed her words. Bristol was quick to catch onto it.

"You said that last year, Mum. And the year before that," Bristol quipped, "It's been two years and some months. He's not coming. I'm done being patient for him. He doesn't deserve it." Ceony watched as Bristol downed his glass of water, excusing himself and hobbled over to his bedroom. She had never seen Bristol act so coldly and it was quite a shock. She looked to Alexander, who also finished his food and excused himself quietly, muttering something about Emery as he dragged himself to his own room. Ceony was left by herself, but something inside her churned. She felt a range of emotions, from frustrated to lonely. She wanted her husband back. She decided to call it a night, cleaning up after the children and tiredly making her way to the master bedroom they once held each other and shared intimate moments. It was cold without his presence and felt barer. The coats that he had hanging in the wardrobe weren't there anymore and his most of his clothing items weren't there, as though he never resided in the household. Ceony sighed when she walked into the room, falling onto the mattress tiredly. Maybe the morning would be better.

* * *

 

The following morning wasn't any better _at all_. Bristol closed himself off after breakfast, stating he had to study the different crafts, starting with Folding. He was a young lad, but he had a thirst for knowledge, especially when he was brooding. Alexander busied himself with Fennel, staying silent if his mother addressed him. The shift in the household was off and Ceony despised it. If Emery refused to come, then she'd just have to come to Emery and face him.

Ceony, after some convincing of sweets and other things, brought the children to her parents' new home and explained her situation to them. They understood and agreed to watch the children as Ceony set out of find out where the hell her husband went.

Ceony then traveled to Tagis Praff, where they held the records of where her husband may be. Several teachers recognized her and had some small talk with her, but she really didn't have the time. Ceony went to several sources, though most did not have the information she sought. She went to her last hope: Tagis Praff's assistant.

"Good morning, welcome. Can I help you?" The assistant was bright, her voice optimistic. Her black hair was long and reached to her inline and her skin was ever so pale. Ceony partially wondered if this was what their daughter would look like, if perhaps they had one. Not that it would be happening anytime soon with these current events.

"I need information on where Emery Thane is. I really need to talk to him." The assistant raised an eyebrow, opening one of the many drawers in the office and looked until she found a specific one. The assistant opened it, skimming through the text. A picture of Emery was in the file, as well as a bunch of other papers she could only assume was his record in the school, even after all the years that had passed.

"Is there an emergency? He's on a tour-," the woman glanced at the paper once more, "for a while, actually. I could get a letter or we could call him if you'd-," Ceony chuckled, her hands visibly shaking.

"I don't want a letter. I've had it with those letters already. I just want to talk to him. In person. A phone won't do." Ceony responded, colder than she had intended. The assistant looked to her, her blue eyes filled with confusion.

"I'm sorry, but I can't pull him out of the tour. I have no jurisdiction and it seems he signed another contact for a commitment-," At that point, Ceony sighed, exasperated. She was sick of this. She wanted her answers, but then it clicked. Another contract?

"I'm sorry, he what?"

"Committed to another contract." The assistant explained. Ceony laughed dryly. The assistant sat there, squirming slightly under Ceony's gaze.

"I believe he made a commitment to me and our children first. He can sign a paper and stay there but can't even bother to come for a birthday or Christmas. That's just rich." She responded through gritted teeth. The assistant's eyebrows raised high and a flicker of recognition came to her eyes.

"Magician Twill?" The assistant inquired.

"Magician Ceony Thane, actually." Ceony corrected the young woman, "Please. I just want my children to have their father. It's been two years. Certainly he can come home this year." The assistant seemed torn, but after a bit of an inner argument, she pulled out a piece of paper from a stack nearby and wrote down an address with a pen nearby. The assistant handed it to Ceony.

"Here. We update these files frequently and this is the address we have on him. I'm sorry, Magician Thane."

"It's alright, I know you were just doing your job. Thank you." The assistant nodded and Ceony smiled softly. She looked at the paper in her hands. A four hour drive, how infuriating, but she might as well get a move on.

Her legs ran as fast as they could.

* * *

 

It was noon when she reached the city he resided in. His address was a small flat around the outskirts, but regardless, she made it. The trek was tiring as it was and she could have used a mirror, but she chose not to risk it. She didn't know if he had a Gaffer mirror or a mirror at all, so she decided not to risk it. The buggy dropped her off in front of the flat and she told the driver to wait. As she stepped out of the buggy, she noticed how busy it was, something she was sure Emery didn't like; it was so unlike him to even dare reside in a city unless it was absolutely necessary. She made her way up a flight of stairs and stopped in front of the forsaken door. She reached to knock, but hesitated. She wanted to go to him, hug him, kiss him, and more importantly, slap the daylights out of him.

Ceony didn't have to even knock, however, as the door swung open. She was met with an extremely tired looking Emery Thane, though his posture and facial expression said otherwise. He held a suitcase in one hand, some paper in the other. She could read his eyes like an open book now. They stared at each other for a moment and Ceony could tell he had many questions, but she beat him in speaking.

"How dare you." She whispered, feeling her eyes well with tears. "How dare you." She repeated again. Emery stepped back and Ceony stepped forward. She noticed how clean the flat was and that was unnerving as it was. He was always a mess, an organized mess, but still a mess. He wasn't even himself anymore.

"Ceony, I-,"

"Shut up! Just shut up!" She must've look pretty damn terrifying, as Emery's eyes actually widened in slight fear. "How dare you sign another contract without telling me?!" His eyes roamed her face as the gears turned in his head, then it clicked.

"Ceony, I signed another contract because they needed me. I was going to get a raise and I wanted to support you, Bristol, and Alexander. They would have great birthdays and Christmases, I needed to work some more." Ceony laughed dryly, like she had done with the assistant.

"I'm sorry, I think you're mistaking me for another person." Emery made a small noise of confusion and Ceony pressed on, "I didn't marry you for money or anything of that sort! I married you because of all your qualities and everything in between. I don't care about any of that. I just want you to come home. Alexander asks for you every day. Bristol tries to brush his feelings aside, but I know he's crying in the evening about you. And me. Our home does't feel the same."

"Ceony...my contract doesn't end until September." He'd be missing both Bristol and Alexander's birthdays, as well as her own. Palm connected with cheek and he stumbled back into the nearby bookcase. He dropped the items in his hands. A book fell from the shelf, as well as a picture of their small family, three years ago. The glass shattered, but Ceony didn't care. Her loneliness, her heartbreak, and desire had combined to create what she was now: a woman who just wanted everything to go back to normal.

"We have nothing to say to each other then. Goodbye, Emery." Ceony turned on her heel, quickly walking out of the flat. She wanted nothing to do with him. Nothing at all. She was already near the stairs when Emery stumbled to the doorway.

"Ceony, wait!" He heard him call. She stopped at the top of the stairwell. He looked at her as her eyes inflated and tears spilled, yet a smile donned her face. A sad one.

"What do you think I've been doing all this time?" She didn't even bother to let him try to catch up with her; she was nimbler and quicker after having to deal with many children in her lifetime.

The buggy driver did indeed wait and she muttered a rushed thank you as she stepped into the vehicle as Emery continued to cry out for her to wait. She didn't care. She didn't even bother glancing out the window, where he was banging on the glass for her to open up.

"Do we wait for-," The buggy driver tried to say and Ceony shook her head.

"No." The finality of her voice was apparent and the driver nodded silently, driving off away from the city, leaving Emery all by himself, standing in the street.

* * *

 

Emery walked back slowly into his flat, the feeling of rejection deep inside his heart. He forgot everything. He forgot what he used to have and drowned himself in work, something he didn't expect himself doing yet again. Ceony had every right to do this, come to his flat and give him a good, hard slap. He picked up the photograph of their family, Bristol and Alexander doing their best to smile brighter than the other, with Ceony sitting beside him and holding his hand. The photograph hardly captured her beauty. He imagined the boys were slightly older now, despite it only being two years.

He was mad to sign that contract.

He placed the photograph onto the shelf where it had been and he went to his office, his hand reached for a pen and paper, writing a detailed letter, explaining that he just couldn't do this anymore; that his family needed him and he needed to be there. He Folded the paper into a bird, taking it outside and bringing it to life. He sent it to where it needed to go and he rushed back to his flat, starting to take down his personal effects and such.

After these two years of showing Folding all around England and the world, he was finally taking the trip that mattered.

He was going home.

* * *

 

Ceony decided to stay at her parents' house for a bit longer when the four hour drive was up, discussing the whole ordeal. Her father wasn't a violent person, but the way he spoke clearly indicated he was absolutely irritated once Ceony finished her story. Her mum was more of a listener on the other hand, gladly listening to her qualms about their marriage and such.

Once it was dark, Ceony took the boys home on a buggy, not a word spoken between any of them. Bristol and Alexander both saw their mother positively reeling, but neither of them wanted to ask what she had been doing. Not that she expected much from her dear husband, but she thought he'd at least put some effort into something. When the buggy stopped at their cottage, Ceony walked through, hardly noticing the paper rose petals that started at their front door. Alexander and Bristol, however, did.

"Mum, look." Bristol pointed towards the petals. Ceony looked down at them as Alexander picked one up.

"They look so cool! They even feel real! Who made this?" Alexander said, grabbing more and throwing them up into the air.

"I have no idea, Alexander." She breathed, unlocking the cottage door, only to be bombarded with different scents of food. The cottage felt warm and bright, for the first time in awhile. Alexander and Bristol both shared a glance of pure awe before running into the cottage, making their way to the kitchen, as the paper rose petals led there. She pursed her lips, already having a good idea of who had chosen to invade their cottage.

"Daddy!" They both cried in unison, loud enough for the entire cottage to hear and Ceony's eyes widened. Since when did he get here? Ceony took off her shoes, making her way slowly to where the smell of cooked turkey started to become stronger. She noticed the signature coat slung over a chair and she smiled. Walking into the kitchen, she was met with a lovely sight.

Emery Thane, with both of his boys in his arms as they giggled, the most emotion she had ever seen Bristol have in awhile and the brightest smile she had ever seen Alexander have. Emery put the boys down and they excitedly went to the dinner table to set it up. Emery and Ceony stared at each other, before they both cracked a smile.

"I didn't know you finally learned how to cook." She said, pointing towards all the ingredients behind him.

"I only just started on the basics. Had to pick up a cookbook or two during my travels. I missed your food and tried to imitate it. Unfortunately, I can't make things turn to gold like you can." He said and without warning, he picked her up and spun her around, placing kisses all over her cheeks and one on her lips. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." She breathed as he continued to hold her. "I love you." He seemed to have so much more to say, but Ceony silenced him with another kiss, something she had longed for so long.

"I love you too." He responded once they let go. Ceony touched their foreheads together in response.

"I've missed you. I've missed your 'I love yous'. Are you staying?" She asked, cupping his cheeks with her warm hands. She didn't want to get her hopes up only for him to leave the following day.

"Yes." He murmured, "I terminated the contract. I'm home now." A sigh escaped her lips, the relief washing over her.

For the first time in so long, their cottage truly did indeed, feel like home.


	6. What Was Once Theirs, Gone Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My ridiculous take on how Lira got her powers. An idea that Emery and Lira had a daughter but Lira used her daughter to gain her Excisioner powers and whatnot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ending is a bit abrupt. sorry.

Ceony wouldn't tell a single solitary soul, but when Emery was away, Ceony would look around the cottage. It was technically  _their_  cottage, so she decided she assumed the right to do so.

Emery had started accumulating more and more meetings with Tagis Praff and the school over trivial things, leaving Ceony to roam around to do her bidding.

She had explored the majority of the cottage, though the only place she hadn't quite explored was Emery's bedroom. Well, it was technically  _their_ bedroom at that point, but Ceony didn't prod around here much, to avoid getting caught.

Until now.

Though, after one clean sweep around, nothing of interest came up. Emery didn't keep much in the bedroom, besides his coats and clothes in his closets and a whole lot of knickknacks and paper. She was just about to give up on her exploration when she realized she didn't check underneath the king bed the two shared. Ceony got on her knees, pulling the bed covers up.

One wooden box lay in the middle of the dark, dusty wasteland. It wasn't large, but it was big enough to hold a few 8" by 10" pieces of paper. Ceony hesitantly took it, unsure if she wanted to remove something that Emery didn't seem to want anything to do with anymore. However, curiosity took over and Ceony found herself placing it on top of the bed, blowing the dust away. Her eyes widened slightly at the beautiful carving of a songbird that decorated the top of the wooden box. A simple lock was blocking her from the secrets that the box held, but it was no problem. A quick switch of her bond and a spell popped the lock off the box. Carefully removing the lock, Ceony lifted the lid.

Papers in Emery's penmanship were scattered about, but one photograph stood out from the mess of papers. Ceony lifted it slowly and the figures were easily recognizable.

Emery, Lira, and a child, who didn't appear to even be a few days old. Emery looked absolutely dashing in an outfit that did not sport his regular coat and Lira, despite having an atrocious personality, looked gorgeous. The child seemed to have her father's eyes and smile, but had her mother's facial features. She flipped the photograph over and she found herself smiling at the words, but it was bittersweet.

_Emery and Lira Thane welcome their new daughter, Annabelle Thane._

Annabelle Thane. Ceony placed the photograph down to the side and picked up one of the letters, her fingers absentmindedly tracing over Emery's perfect script.

_I cannot express how much love I could put into a single solitary human being who isn't Lira._

Ceony cringed at that, her eyebrow furrowing. She knew that before the whole Excision thing had corrupted Lira, Emery truly did love her, but she couldn't help but cringe. She pressed on.

_Annabelle, the young girl Lira and I produced, she is more than I could ever ask for. Her likeness comes from Lira, but her eyes and smile are nobody's but mine. I can also see traces of my mother every time she looks back at me._

_Lira insisted we had kept the child's birth a secret and it wasn't that hard to do in the first place. She had taken a nine month leave in secret, only her superior was aware of the situation. When she had given birth, it was secluded and her close co-worker delivered the baby. Gregory was the only witness to Annabelle's coming, besides myself._

Ceony frowned. Why bother keeping the birth a secret when this was something to clearly be excited about? Ceony supposed Emery didn't want to upset Lira or something of the sort.

_I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited to be a father. Lira will be a great mother-_

Ceony snorted at that. Lira, a  _mother_? The line earned an eye roll from her.

_-as she is a wonderful woman._

Emery was absolutely smitten with Lira at this stage. It only made sense, but Ceony felt a pang of jealousy resonate through her regardless. Not that she  _should_  be jealous, Emery was her husband now, but good God, reading this made her blood boil.

_I hope we'll be able to show the child to everyone soon, as I will be boarding an apprentice now. It would be impossible to hide the child with another person in the house._

_There are so many new things coming up for my life. I love everything about it._

Ceony sighed, placing the letter down and opening up another.

_Annabelle is **dead.**_

That changed the tone from the previous note. Goodness.

_Criminal Affairs stepped in and won't tell me what happened to my baby girl. Told me it was a case of unspeakable proportions. But I don't even care, unspeakable proportions or not, I want to see her. I want to see my bubbly baby girl again. Please._

Ceony's smile faltered. The words held so much emotion.

_I want to see her smile and laugh, her little hands trying to grab for my finger when I tickle her stomach._

_Despite the happiness that she gave me, nobody knows about her existence still. I wish I had told someone, rather than listening to Lira. Alfred may be apart of Criminal Affairs, but he is not a high rank to know these things, it seems. Patrice wouldn't know, she teaches at Tagis Praff, kilometers away from the Criminal Affairs Headquarters. Nobody knows. Nobody can feel what I feel, but I will not drown myself to the bottom of a bottle. I'd rather just flake away rather than spend my life drinking. The only taste of wine I get is during the banquets. I'd like for it to stay that way._

Quite the morbid turn, unlike the previous letter. Ceony inhaled a sharp breath, eyes narrow. The penmanship was shaky at this point and the copper color seemed to be slightly faded, as if Emery was crying as he wrote all of this.

_Thomas, my apprentice of halfway watches me fall apart. He was forced into the craft of Folding, like myself, and having a gloomy mentor will do no justice towards his learning. He won't appreciate Folding either, if I'm the one teaching it. I'm going to request to move him. It's all I can do to save him from this problem. He doesn't deserve to watch me crumble, turn into a man of self-hate and depression. But what can I do?_

_I'm losing everything I know._

_My wife is unfaithful. I don't even believe in God, but it hurts, so much, to see her run off, ignoring our wedding vows and pretending I'm nothing to her. It's been several months since I've last seen her. She's not even here to help me through Annabelle's death. I'm pretty sure she's with Gregory, or Grath, as he has decided to name himself. She just disappeared, leaving me here._

_A part of me, as much as it pains me to write it, thinks she was the one who killed Annabelle. She was the last person to touch our daughter. But why? The sinking feeling that I had sunk deep down may be right, but I have no proof towards my accusations._

The writing started to become illegible, but Ceony had seen worse, so she was able to read it just fine.

_Please, God or whatever you may be, please, let my little girl go to heaven or whatever the good afterlife may be. Annabelle deserved so much more. She could have been a Folder too. Maybe a scholar?_

_She could be anything else but_ **dead.**

Ceony saw a tear stain appear onto the paper and she realized that she was crying. She placed the letter down and wiped her tears onto her arm. Ceony picked up another letter.

_I never expected myself to divorce Lira. But I did. I signed what I needed. It felt like a relief to do so. I didn't feel as if I had anything anymore. I felt...calm. Broken as I was on the inside, I felt at peace with these broken pieces._

_Good God, what have I become? What has my life become? I've been reduced to nothing. My wife is an Excisioner. My daughter is dead. I can't work anymore, not in this state._

_I released Thomas from his apprenticeship to me. He will study under someone else now. He tried to fight it, but I explained that I just couldn't do it anymore. Patrice is the head of administrations now. She will make sure I do not take another apprentice. I can't. Not after this._

_And yet you did_ , Ceony thought as she picked up one of the last few letters.

_Ceony Twill is an interesting apprentice to be with. I didn't even think I'd be ready to take an apprentice. I also didn't expect myself to be writing anymore, not to this box, at least, but Ceony might see my notes. I won't take any chances._

_She is diligent to learn, as I suspected. My fifteen thousand pounds did not go to waste, as she graduated Tagis Praff in a single solitary year, due to that stellar memory of hers. Not that I didn't doubt her, but of course, placing your bet on a feisty little waitress is a little difficult. Doesn't really matter in the end though. I have an abundance as it is, when I worked for Criminal Affairs and my monthly paycheck I received from mentoring the previous students. As a recluse, one doesn't need much._

_Not anymore._

She noticed the newer looking ink that had come from the words she was now reading. It wasn't very new, but it was much more recent unlike the other letters. Three years early.

_Ceony has explored my heart. I wonder if she saw Annabelle. But I doubt she would have, as I only had four months with Annabelle before...Lira had taken her away. Then again, she hasn't spoken to me about what she had seen. There are some things I don't want to hear again, but I wish she told me what I was like in my heart. Rather, I wish I had that luxury, to go into my own heart and see what lies. I wonder if Ceony thinks of me differently now. It was such a load of pain and jubilation to give to a single solitary apprentice._

_How old would my sweet Annabelle be now? Four? Five? The only memories of her are in this box. I refuse to look through it, as I cannot mope around any longer. Ceony deserves a good man to teach her the craft._

Ceony could see the birth certificate that lay at the bottom. Annabelle would be at least six or seven now. The year was slightly smudged, but Annabelle's birthday was on the  _same_  day Ceony became a magician. The  _same_  day Emery proposed to her. What would he be doing if she was not becoming a magician?

She did notice on that day, as each year passed, his usual demeanor would be lackluster, as if it was missing something. Ceony always put it off as him being tired due to his selective insomnia, but it could be a lot more than that.

Two more letters were left. She picked up one of them.

_I took down Saraj and in the process, Ceony took down Grath, as much as I tried to protect her, trouble only came to her doorstep. If she doesn't walk down the path of trouble, they go after her instead._

_Meanwhile, I took myself down the road of love, a road Ceony was already on before I decided to follow. I promised myself I wouldn't. I didn't want to bring back these problems. But Ceony, she could beat Lira any day._

_Calm, confident, quick witted, and absolutely beautiful, she's everything I could ever want or hope for in a woman. Her cooking only makes life so much better. She's already stuck herself into my heart. I think my heart is letting her stay, allowing her to fix the pieces that I could not piece back together on my own._

_I've also found myself becoming so overprotective of her. During my nights of insomnia at the flat, I didn't realize how much I was worry I was placing over her until those moments. I even yelled at her, something I would usually never do._

_Then I kissed her, something I_ _really_ _wouldn't do. Goodness, I actually kissed her. I don't know why my arms and legs moved on their own, but the next thing I felt was my mouth was on hers. Her soft lips that I had only thought about for a brief moment before, but now it's all I can think about. Sure, entertaining the thought of courting in my mind was fun, but I actually took that step forward._

_Will I really continue down this path?_

Ceony chuckled softly and picked up the last letter. It was recent, one year, it seemed.

_To answer that question, yes, I did. I ran down that path, arms wide to embrace her. I hardly regret it, like the fact that I do not regret killing Saraj. That cheeky bugger escaped. Ceony, being the stubborn genius she is, hunted him down when she should have been studying for her magician's test. I did too. We're both stubborn geniuses, sadly. Perhaps that's why we work so well together._

_What did I do to deserve her? Did God feel mercy over what had happened to Annabelle and gave me Ceony in return, after so long? God took several years before getting off his throne to help a man out. Whatever the case may be, I wonder if Ceony's interested in being a mother. I want to try again, but of course, I don't want to advance onto her unless she's absolutely ready. I know that she would be a great mum. I'm a child myself too, the more I think about it. If she can take care of me, she can take care of children._

_I wonder what name Ceony might like. If we have a son, maybe we could name him Bristol. Bristol Thane. If we have a daughter, maybe Amelia Thane?_

Ceony liked the idea of a Darren or Amelia. Though from the fortunity box, it appears they'll have two sons, but Amelia is such a nice name. Ceony smiled and pressed on.

_Hell, why am I even thinking about this? I haven't even proposed. I don't even know if she'll say yes. Ceony is still at Prit's, studying hard. If I had the choice, I would test Ceony myself, but scandal would be a problem. Thanks to that, I'm stuck with a cold sandwich in my mouth as I write this last letter to this box. The sacrifices I have to make for this woman-_

"Ceony?" Emery's voice rang through the room, stopping Ceony in her reading. She looked up slowly, prepared to find his eyes ablaze with anger.

But instead, they looked betrayed and slightly defeated. She shouldn't have done this, she realizes, staring at his emerald eyes.

"Emery." She acknowledged.

"So you know then." He weakly motioned to the box, "I knew I couldn't keep a secret for long. A stupid spot to keep it, I know. I should have expected you to clean there eventually." He leaned against the doorframe, sighing, but his eyes did not leave hers. They stayed in this uncomfortable silence until Ceony decided to finally speak.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I should have known-" Emery started but Ceony shook her head.

"No, I'm talking about something else."

"What are you sorry for then-"

"I didn't see her." She blurted out.

"Pardon?

"I didn't see Annabelle in your heart."

"Oh." He grimaced.

"I saw an outline of a family, though there was no defining shape that gave any facial features, so I had just assumed you just wanted a family." Ceony paused, shaking her head, "I mean, Annabelle seems really important to you, I thought...I'd see her at least."

"Well," He sighed, "It could be because I just..." She looked at him, her eyes showing a full load of sympathy and he sighed again. "It was too much for me, to lose her. Annabelle was the one thing to make my life complete. Then, Lira took her to be an Excisioner." He wrung his hands out absentmindedly, "Maybe my heart couldn't take it, or I blocked it out entirely. Or maybe...I just forced myself to forget."

"You can't just forget her she's-"

"I know, but she's  _dead_  now. There's nothing I can do, Ceony." He responded to her in monotone and she winced. It was as if he had lost all the life in him as he spoke those words. Ceony put the letters and photograph back, closing the box again. She knew she crossed a line.

"I'm going to make us dinner. Let's just...talk about it later, yeah? Yeah." Ceony got up, swiftly moving past Emery to avoid his gaze. He did not go after her, but instead walked towards the box. He had suspected a simple lock would be no problem to Ceony, considering her bond breaking days were hardly over. He ran a hand over the engraved songbird before opening the box and picking up the photograph. He touched Annabelle's face lovingly on the picture one last time before placing it back to where it was and closed the lid.

He needed to stop living in the past and focus on the present for once in his life. A new chapter was starting for him. Annabelle wouldn't have wanted him to be sad about her when things are going so well for him.

He placed the box back on the bed and walked towards the doorway. He glanced at the box once more, "I hope you're happy up there, Annabelle. Wherever you may be. I wish you were here with us." And he left it at that, walking out into the hallway, shutting the door behind him, as if he was shutting the past out.


	7. The Royal Family of Folders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just pure fluff with Ceony, Emery, and their two children, Bristol and Alexander, my personal names for them.

Ceony knew that when her two children would grow to be about five or six, they would have very hyper personalities, since both Margo and Marshall were both of that nature during those ages and she had to suffer through those. After raising Bristol and Alexander for six years, she had found that only one of them was that nature and it was Alexander, the youngest by a year. It was as if Alexander had taken all of Bristol's excitement and took it for himself, while Bristol took more of a studious approach towards everything at life, even at a young age. He'd only be very excited when he was playing with his brother or if he had a new thing to fascinate him, but for the most part, he was very placid.

"Alexander, I know you want to fold, but you have to wait for your brother! Be careful! If you fall again, I swear Alexander!" Ceony called, watching the young boy jump down two steps at a time from the third floor. Bristol was besides his mother, watching his brother with distaste in his eyes. Ceony looked down at the other young boy and ruffled his hair, "He must be excited that your father is coming back."

"He always comes back." Bristol responded, as if it was a fact that could not be doubted. Ceony sighed softly at Bristol, who had stopped moving to peer into his mother's eyes. Bristol had soft emerald eyes, similar to his father, while Alexander had striking baby blues. "Doesn't he?" Ceony thought back to all the times she had wondered that too, but had no time for her own previous doubts and responded to Bristol.

"Well, yes, of course-," before Ceony could even say another word, Alexander's voice rang out through the bottom floor of the house once they had reached the last step. "DAD!" Alexander yelled out as the door swung open to reveal the Emery Thane, his tired demeanor automatically changing at the sight of his son, running to him with open arms. He dropped the suitcase had in his hands and picked up the child, twirling around in place. Alexander laughed in excitement, grinning at his father. Ceony peered down to find Bristol excited himself under his emerald eyes, but his face remained casual, much like his father. Emery placed Alexander down and walked over to Bristol, crouching down to his level and giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Hello, Bristol. I'm guessing you're composed as ever and didn't give mummy a hard time?" Bristol nodded, smiling now. "That's my boy." Emery stood up and gave a chaste kiss onto Ceony's lips, explaining the events of the four-day long meeting, "The meeting was absolutely horrid. I swear, Tagis has to find someone who's similar to Patrice. Magician Reed is nice and all, but good heavens, the man cannot control the admissions well. It always ends up this way every year."

"Nobody can replace Patrice." Ceony chuckled, automatically feeling safe under his presence. "Did they tell you if we were getting an apprentice this year?"

"Yeah. It appears we'll be co-teaching a poor sap that Magician Reed will pluck from the many students that want to be something else besides a Folder." Emery said, rolling up his coat and shirt sleeves up.

"Or someone who actually wants to be in Folding, ever consider that?" Ceony asked and Bristol tugged on her skirt. She looked down to him, to see that Alexander was now standing besides his brother, holding hands together. "Yes, Bristol?"

"We want to be Folders." Bristol said simply. Emery and Ceony exchanged a glance. It wasn't that they didn't want their children to be Folders, but they had only really seen that one art form. They had constantly spoken about the lack of Folders around the kids, but they didn't expect them to want to pursue the craft. Emery and Ceony had both made the decision to not disclose the ability to change bonds to them, as it may get them in a lot of trouble. Emery placed strong hands onto Bristol and Alexander's shoulders, eyeing them with a certain amount of amusement that he only possessed when his children said something of a ridiculous nature.

"Are you sure? I mean, your mother and I both love Folding, but once you have a bond, you have it forever. No changing." Emery reminded the two children. Bristol shrugged and Alexander's smile only widened.

"We'll make people like Folding, then we'll be the Princes of Folding!" Alexander blurted out, "We'll be amazing Folders! You and Mummy can be the king and queen!"

"The king of Folding." Emery said, mulling over the idea. Bristol grinned at his brother's idea and nodded to it, his dimples showing clear as day.

"And your Queen." Ceony added on.

"My queen Victoria." Emery said cheekily to her then looked back to the two boys. "How about we make paper crowns and become the royal rulers of Folding?" Emery suggested and Ceony saw the boys' eyes widen tenfold. Bristol was keen on learning more origami creations, while Alexander just loved to spend time with his family. The two boys raced to the paper drawer, pulling out multitudes of 6' x 6' sheets of paper and placing them onto coffee table of the living room. Emery and Ceony walked inside, plopping down onto the sofa. Bristol had pulled out sheets of crimson red and black, while Alexander had pulled out three different shades of blue.

"You only need six sheets of paper." Emery said, taking out six pieces of indigo paper to match his coat. Ceony examined her color choices and ended up taking out three sheets of navy blue paper and three sheets of a lavender purple. She had made paper crowns for Margo and Marshall before, so she knew the steps already.

"You first fold here and here." Emery told the two children as he took one of his sheets of indigo paper and folded the paper in half on both the horizontal axis and vertical axis. He made sure the creases were perfect, then unfolded them and looked up from his work to see how his children were doing. Bristol had made sure his followed his father's, while Ceony was helping Alexander perfect his as well. Usually, if Alexander didn't understand something, he would be frustrated, but never with Folding. He took to be a careful craft and hardly whined, like Bristol. "Then you fold the two top corners, like this." He folded the corners to the center. Bristol was still following and Alexander was getting the hang of it. "Now you fold the bottom to the center, twice." He demonstrated and Alexander pouted.

"Its not a crown though Dad." Alexander pointed out as he finished.

"That's why you have five other pieces to Fold, Alexander." Emery responded, picking up another piece of the indigo paper. After what appeared to be forever, they each had six similar looking pieces of a crown.

"I still don't get what these are for." Alexander huffed.

"I think you have to attach them." Bristol told his young brother, taking two pieces and attaching them together. Alexander watched in amazement. Emery and Ceony both chuckled as they began to also attach their pieces together. They all each had a paper crown by the end of it. Emery took Alexander's and placed it onto his head.

"I dub thee, the Prince of Folding." Emery grinned, then did the same for Bristol, who looked equally as giddy under those green eyes. Emery looked towards Ceony and picked up her crown. "And I dub thee my wife. My slightly stubborn, yet absolutely divine wife." Ceony picked up Emery's crown and grinned.

"I dub thee the best thing that ever happened to me, also known as my husband." She placed his crown onto his head, pulling him for a kiss. Alexander let out a disgusted sound and Bristol just smirked. The two let go, remembering the children were in the room. Bristol whispered something into Alexander's ear and the two ran off, chasing after one another. Ceony looked towards Emery. Bristol always seemed to know the perfect time to lead Alexander out.

"The royal family of Folding, eh?" She asked as Emery pulled her close for a hug, watching the boys out the window as they were pretending to be two Princes fighting for something.

"The greatest royal family in all of the royal families to ever exist, more like."


	8. Innuendos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think the chapter title speaks for itself. It was a really stupid idea at the time, but my god, it was comedy gold to me.\
> 
> Alfred can't shut his mouth. How unfortunate for him.

"Is it just me, or do you also think Emery did her good?" Alfred said, noticing Ceony's difficulty in walking as Emery led her to her seat. Patrice furrowed her brow, her lips pursed as she mulled over Alfred's words. They were at a banquet for a fundraiser for the next school year at Tagis Praff, something that was annual and they were forced to attend.

Except this year, Emery brought Ceony along, as his plus one. Ceony did not have an apprentice and was a brand new magician, so she could not be invited to these affairs yet. Patrice could see all the eyes on Emery and Ceony, as the word of their engagement spread like wildfire.

Patrice wasn't wrong when she said that Ceony wouldn't be 'Miss Twill' by Christmas. People were congratulating them left and right, though she could see some people whispering about how wrong it was. But it was to be expected. Controversy often shifted around the banquet, every single year. But right now, the current concern was Alfred's ridiculous comment.

"That is hardly appropriate Alfred." Patrice said, frowning at Alfred's comment. They sat across from the couple, but they were too busy chattering about the banquet to each other to address Patrice or Alfred.

"I'm not wrong. She looks like she can't walk. You can't tell me I'm the only person that sees that." Mg. Hughes pointed out, "Do you think perhaps they had multiple rou-"

" _ALFRED_." Patrice hissed, clearly fed up with Alfred's comments. Alfred looked to her, clearly amused that he struck a nerve so quickly. "Please, stop. This is a civilized, public event. I don't need any of your comments ruining it. As much as I find your talk about their bed adventures slightly amusing, I don't need to talk about them when the two in question, are in front of us." She murmured, "Besides, Emery is a gentleman, if you couldn't tell. He wouldn't do anything like that, not yet."

"I'm only joking Patrice. Besides, you did say this amused you." Alfred said, raising his hands up in fake surrender. Patrice could clearly see the gears working in his head. He wasn't done. "Or would he? Would he chuck those silly gentlemanly rules he constantly speaks of his down the drain to-"

"We will  _not_  discuss this." Patrice responded, before he could continue. Alfred only chuckled.

"I mean, not trying to say anything but, as reclusive Folders are," Here it was, the worst of them all.

"Alfred." Patrice warned him. Alfred was already an unstoppable force. No matter how much Patrice would chastise her friend, he was already into it.

"I mean, come on. He had an  _Excisioner_  as his previous wife.  _Only something of a large size_  could truly  _tame_  her, right?" Alfred chuckled. Patrice truly wanted to respond back with something to stop him from walking on this thin ice, but she was mature, unlike Alfred. She would bite her tongue.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you." She looked forward and found Emery's seat vacant. Ceony, on the other hand, was covering her mouth to avoid laughing out loud. Ceony noticed Patrice's eyes on her and quickly switched her position to look natural, but it was too late.

"Is something funny, Ceony?" Patrice asked, an eyebrow raising. Ceony pointed behind them, smirking.

"I don't know about you, but the comments about my ex-wife aren't really welcome." A light baritone said behind them. The two whipped their heads back, like a double act, and found Emery, his eyes dark. Ceony was trying to stifle her laughter. "Especially in front of my lovely fiancé." He glanced up towards Ceony, grinning. Ceony just continued to giggle, watching him make his two seniors tremble in fear.

"Oh, Emery, uh-" Alfred tried to reason himself out of this, but to no avail. He had been caught.

"Alfred, I don't think your humor is funny." Emery paused for a moment, then sighed, but he kept the amusement in his eyes so strong, "I'll have you know, Lira wasn't a very exciting bed partner, despite what you may think. She wouldn't even let me do anything remotely nice. Took all the control." Emery started to speak quieter, so Ceony couldn't hear, " Ceony, on the other hand-"

"Emery, I  _don't_  want to hear your love life, let alone your  _sexual escapades_." Patrice cut in and Emery chuckled darkly.

"Before, that was all you used to address, Patrice." Emery countered, putting a hand on Alfred's shoulder, making him tense up even more. "Now, Alfred, your jokes aren't advised. Wouldn't want you to hear the consequences of bringing that vile woman back up as a topic, now would you?" Emery patted Alfred's shoulder once before striding back to Ceony, taking his seat.

"That man is a force to be reckoned with." Alfred said, taking a nice deep breath in, fiddling with his shirt collar. Emery nodded in approval to Alfred's...compliment.

"He's a  _Folder_ , Alfred." Patrice said, emphasizing her words, "He needs something stronger than paper to fend people off. He uses  _words_. If you think he's terrifying, he can insult you without even having it  _feel_  like one."

"The worst of the worst." Ceony added. "Using the greatest weapon in his arsenal, injuring one's pride."

"Why thank you." Emery chuckled, his eyes twinkling with more amusement. Ceony laughed.

"You should try living with him!" Ceony proclaimed once she sobered up, "You'd think he's even worse then, if that's even remotely possible."

"Dear, I beg to differ. I am an amazing person to live with." The two started a friendly banter about it. Patrice smiled softly at the two, watching as Ceony and Emery bickered like an old couple.

"Is the Patrice Aviosky  _smiling_?" Alfred asked, ceasing Ceony and Emery's argument in an instant. Patrice stiffened when all the eyes were on her, returning to her regular demeanor of strictness.

"No." Patrice murmured, "I did not."

"Oh my goodness, you were!" Ceony smiled. Patrice scowled back, eyes narrow.

"And I thought I'd never see the day Patrice Aviosky smile, let alone allow her shoulders to relax." Emery chuckled, "Are we just  _that_  interesting?" Patrice rolled her eyes, but then she started to laugh, despite trying to hide it, and so, they all joined in with her.

Life was great.


	9. Blessings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emery asks Ceony's parents for their blessing before he asks her hand in marriage.

Emery sat in his office, folding a paper rose to give to Ceony once she woke up. He didn't have much to do to pass the time and this was what he thought of. His select insomnia was up and at it again, and despite wanting to join Ceony in bed, his body would not will him to do so. He recalled the last few days and how much of a rush they were as he did a valley Fold. He only just now sat down and thought about it.

Oh, how he would have so regretted snuffing the feelings he had if he listened to his mind. His heart would have beaten himself over if Ceony was with someone else. It took that long just for him to realize how much of an idiot he was. When she asked for that kiss when he was first hunting for Saraj, he did what his heart wanted and gave it to her.

But he finally did what his heart really desired. He proposed to her. It took so much effort to simply bring himself to even ask for her family's blessing, let alone had been out with her parents several times behind Ceony's back to allow them to get to know him better. He however, had only met them in parks or bakeries.

He only found out that Alfred had given them the first down payment of the estate they were relocated in awhile back when he asked Alfred where they had lived. Alongside that, Alfred helped Ceony's father find a better, more respectable job to help them keep that estate and raise their children well. Ceony's work was spreading in Criminal Affairs, that was obvious enough. He sighed, putting the stem of the rose down and massaging his temples. He remembered when he dropped in for a surprise visit to ask for their blessing, that was when he found out about the permanent relocation. He recalled the event so fresh in his mind.

* * *

 

_Emery looked at the address Alfred had given him, then glanced at where the buggy had dropped him off, in front of the gate. They certainly gave the Twill family quite the upgrade, rather than the rundown home in the Mill Squats. It wasn't quite the size of Prit's mansion, but it certainly was larger. The house was only two stories high, but was about the size of the cottage and then some. Similarly to Prit's, ivy covered the majority of the sides of the mansion and had shrubbery in the front, along with three different chimneys. At least here, there were flowers, not paper ones, but flowers nonetheless. He sighed, looking at the policeman who already knew Emery and was opening the gate. There were several other police officers walking around the area. With Saraj still loose, it made sense to keep at least several people stationed here. He could easily go for Ceony's family if they weren't protected._

_Emery had way too much free time on his hands. He was tracking Saraj, but it wasn't enough. He thought it would be best to just spend it with Ceony's family. Besides, he did have a question he needed to ask Ceony's parents._

_Something that he couldn't just do with a mail bird._

_"Are they home?" Emery asked the police officer, who nodded. Emery quickly walked to the front, then noticed there was a large garden in the back, where he could hear humming. He decided to go to the back, where he spotted Rhonda watering the flowers. She seemed content, but her eyes said otherwise. It looked as if she spent her evenings worried. He couldn't blame her, as it was her oldest daughter going off into the world and she hasn't been told much. The police officers must have been a surprise as well. He felt bad, he really wanted to tell her what really was happening, but that would only worry her further. He walked towards her and made his presence known._

_"Good morning Rhonda." He said, opening the small gate that separated the garden from the front lawn. The garden was more bountiful with flowers of all the sorts and even had a small sitting area where Margo and Marshall were studying hard. Zina was trying to stay out of sight as she was sketching something on a piece of paper._

_"Magician Thane!" She said, almost dropping the watering can in surprise."I didn't expect you to visit, is everything alright?"_

_"Emery is fine, Rhonda." He said, "I may be a magician, but I prefer Emery."_

_"Ah, alright Emery." She nodded, testing his name on her tongue, "So then, what brings you here? Any troubles?"_

_"No, I just-" Emery was interrupted by Marshall and Margo, who ran up to Emery when they noticed him._

_"Aren't you my sister's teacher?" Marshall asked, looking up to him. Emery smiled. He didn't spend that much time with Ceony's siblings, which he made a mental note to do so._

_"Why yes, I am." He said, looking at the two. They were so interested, it reminded him of Ceony, especially Margo, who really was a spitting image of Ceony. He missed her already, even if it had been only several days._

_"Are you going to give us paper gifts like she did?" Margo asked, eyes twinkling with excitement only a child would bear. She seemed to be in her teens now, but nonetheless, was very thrilled to see the paper magician. This family was so loved, Emery noticed, the two children didn't seem to have lost their innocence, besides Zina, who was a sulking young adult._

_"Now children, Magician Thane is here for other reasons." Rhonda said, frowning at the kids. "Go back to your studies."_

_"It's quite alright, Rhonda." He bent down to their level and pulled out a crimson piece of paper and deftly began Folding it into a songbird. Once he was satisfied, he whispered, "Breathe," and the paper songbird came to life. It flew and landed on top of Margo's head. She laughed excitedly. He pulled out a piece of turquoise paper and Folded it into a butterfly and whispered, "Breathe," once again. The paper butterfly flew to Marshall's nose._

_"Thank you Magician Thane!" Margo and Marshall said in unison, playing with the paper songbird and the paper butterfly that followed them, seeming to ignore their studies for the time being. Zina watched before turning back to her sketchbook, though she seemed to be paying attention to it all._

_"I wasn't kidding when she said she spoke fondly of you. I'm glad you became her mentor." Rhonda said, watching the children play. "I doubt she'd be as happy as she is now if she didn't become an apprentice and now look at her, she's going to be a magician. I never truly thanked you for paying for her scholarship, now did I?"_

_"It really was no trouble. She almost lost her scholarship. I just helped." The thought of Ceony when she dumped the wine on Sinad Mueller came to mind. He knew how feisty she was at that moment, but it was really a coincidence when she became his apprentice. "She deserved it." And Ceony truly did. She passed Tagis Praff in a year and would get her magicianship soon. Ceony might even surpass himself at the pace she was heading in. Not that he would let her of course, but she might._

_"And thank goodness for that. She would be crushed if she had to toss her dream away." She said as she watered more flowers. He paused, debating on if he was to continue on with what he came here for. "Rhonda, is your husband home?"_

_"Yes, actually. He doesn't work today." Rhonda said, "Though he's very stressed. He doesn't want to lose this place, so he's working really hard."_

_"If it helps, Ceony is currently in good hands, studying hard. I, on the other hand am working on protecting this family." Rhonda smiled brightly, tears in her eyes. She looked so proud of him._

_"You'd make an impressive son-in-law Magician Thane." Rhonda said, putting the watering can down. "You're great with children, you hold yourself well, and overall just a great man. There aren't many in the world like that."_

_"Why thank you, but..." He paused, "That's actually...what I'm here for." Emery hesitated, looking at Rhonda._

_"Oh." The single syllable came from her lips and it was silence, besides the children. She looked up at him and a moment of silence passed before Rhonda just smiled. "Well, to be honest, I'm not surprised."_

_"I'm sorry?" It was Emery's turn to be surprised. He had expected her to say something else, anything else besides that._

_"Well, I know my daughter well and clearly, after seeing her on her birthdays, she seemed to be always talking about you and you only. She always has this dreamy look and I know for sure she's thinking of you. I had that look when I met her father." She paused, sighing, "She's a very selective woman and doesn't wear her heart on her shoulder. You've never done her any sort of wrong, a gentleman in your own aspect. You've protected this family since day one. You make her so happy. I couldn't say no to you at all even if I tried." Rhonda smiled softly, "I know how much she's done for you. You'll do the same, I'm sure. I give you my blessing."_

_"I-" He was lost for words. "Thank you."_

_"When do you plan on proposing?" Rhonda asked. Of course she would ask that. Every mother does._

_"When she becomes a magician." Emery said and it was true, he did wait. He saved money on the side to buy her that special Smelter ring Juliet told him about before. He wanted it to be special._

_"After her ceremony?" Rhonda asked, eyes twinkling just thinking about it. "Oh Emery, now that truly is magical on its own. Ceony will be so happy."_

_"I hope so." Emery said, "I'm really looking forward to her passing." He didn't doubt it for a single second that Ceony wouldn't._

_"Now you should ask my husband." Rhonda said. "He should be in the study." He nodded and walked into the house. The smell of kidney pie was adamant in the mansion and he smiled. This was where Ceony got her cooking skills, he thought, as he walked around, searching for her father. Mr. Twill wasn't terrifying in the least, if anything, he was a jolly man. His answer was what terrified him._

_"Ernest?" He asked, poking his head into the first door he found, which was actually the study. Mr. Twill was reading a book, with the cover slightly scratched out, so the title wasn't quite visible._

_"Magician Thane." He greeted, putting his book down and got up from his seat and made his way to Emery, who met him halfway and shook his hand, smiling. "The policemen are back, why so?"_

_"Once again, you may be in danger. But, I am taking care of it while Ceony is studying for her magician's test." Emery said, relaying what he told Rhonda. Ernest sighed, looking away for a second before looking back to Emery._

_"Thank you." He sighed, running a hand through his raven black hair. What interesting hair colors this family had. "I'm just scared, but I trust you."_

_"She's safe. You all are." Magician Thane sighed, deciding to just go for it. He couldn't delay anything. "I know this isn't the greatest time but..." Emery saw a slight smile form on Ernest's face. He knew too, didn't he?_

_"Magician Thane, are you interested in my daughter?" Emery felt his cheeks rush to a bright red. Emery hadn't prepared for Ceony's father to be equally as direct as her mother, if not more._

_"Y-yes." He stuttered. He's never stuttered before._

_"I assume Rhonda has told you everything I would say, but, I like you, Magician Thane. You allowed Ceony's dream come true. That, on its own, is enough to make me approve of you." Ernest said, "You seem to be a family man. I hope you are." Ernest put a hand on Emery's shoulder and laughed, noting Emery's uncomfortable look. "No need to be all tense Magician Thane, you're like family at this point!" Emery smiled sheepishly, more in his eyes rather than his mouth._

_"Thank you. Just, thank you." Emery thanked him profusely. "I didn't expect you both to say yes."_

_"Why wouldn't we?" Ernest asked, "You're everything in a son-in-law package, wrapped around an indigo coat."_

_"I suppose I am. Thank you, really." Mr. Twill removed his hand from Emery's shoulder. "Have a good day, Ernest."_

_"You too, Magician Thane."_

_"Please, just call me Emery." He said as he walked off, making his way through the front entrance. He just walked through the front door when Zina's voice surprised him._

_"You're popular in this family, you know." Zina said and Emery turned, finding Zina leaning besides the door frame. "They really do love what you've done for Ceony."_

_"Really?" Emery asked, looking at Zina. If someone had told him Zina and Ceony were sisters, he would dismiss the notion. Zina was so different from Ceony. He wondered why._

_"My mother and father love that you helped Ceony up the steps to be a magician. Marshall and Margo became interested in origami because of you both." She shook her head, "I"ll have a great time trying to live up to my amazing sister." She really seemed to dislike Ceony._

_"Zina, you're great in your own merit." Emery said, frowning._

_"Easy for you to say! You're a magician. I'm...nothing compared to you or Ceony or anyone in this damn world." She huffed, tucking a piece of black hair behind her ear._

_"Zina, that's not true and you know it." He remembered Ceony talking about Zina, how she was always jealous of Ceony earning the limelight._

_"It doesn't matter. You're marrying my sister, aren't you?" Zina asked and Emery nodded slowly, unsure where Zina was going with this. Did everyone in this family know about his interest in marriage? "Just...make her happy, will you? As much as I really don't approve of you two, I've done nothing but envy her. I've been getting myself in worse situations because I can't help myself. I'm no good. I might change my ways, but right now, that's looking slim." His eyes slowly looked down at the piece of paper Zina was waving around as she spoke, as if to make her point. The drawing on the ivory piece of paper was a flawless copy of the garden and the back of the house, along with Margo, Marshall, and Rhonda in the drawing. It looked like a black and white photograph. She was was an impressive artist, despite hardly believing in herself._

_"I know you don't like me at all, but Zina, you can do the same. It might not be magic, but nonetheless, you can do it." Emery placed a hand on her shoulder, but she reflexively pushed it off._

_"That's all I wanted to say. Goodbye, Magician Thane." She said his name with a slight malice, but he knew she didn't mean it. She walked off, heading back inside. He sighed, walking back to the buggy that was waiting for him still. The policeman nodded to Emery as he left and the buggy rode back to the cottage._

_He was going to protect them. He had to. For Ceony._

* * *

 

"Emery, you're going to kill yourself with these sleeping habits of yours." Ceony, in the present, said, stood in the door frame. He looked in front of him, noticing he had made two bouquets of paper red roses while thinking heavily.

"I wouldn't want to leave you so early, now would I, Magician Twill?" He asked. Ceony walked closer, Fennel following her.

"Of course not, Magician Thane." She chuckled, giving him a kiss across the desk. "But seriously, Emery, you need to sleep."

"I know Ceony. I promise I'll turn in soon. I just have to finish this rose." She nodded, obviously not believing him. She started walking off, then paused at the door.

"If you don't turn in, I'm not going to make you food, ever. You'll have to fend yourself." Emery mocked shock and Ceony rolled her eyes, picking up Fennel, who was running around her legs.

"You would never!" He said, a sparkle of playfulness in his emerald eyes. Ceony turned around and nodded with a smirk.

"I would." She walked off and he sighed, watching her head back into the bedroom.

What a woman.


	10. Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Emery's birthday and Ceony wants to do something special. :)

Ceony slowly peeled away the blankets that covered her and her sleeping husband. Luckily, he did not stir as she slowly crept away, heading down towards the kitchen. Glancing at a clock, she found it to only be 10:30. She wouldn't be exact in greeting him at midnight, but at least she'd greet him early nonetheless. She pulled out the recipe to a vanilla cake from her mind, sighing. She had to run to the store the day before without his knowledge to pick up the ingredients, late in the evening while he was still asleep. Frankly, she was lucky his selective insomnia wasn't rampant that day, or she would also have to run to the market yet again in the pouring rain.

But in the end, it was all worth it. Just for him. She wanted to make this specific birthday lovely. It was his first birthday with her, defined as husband and wife. She looked at everything, assuming she had it all.

And then that's when she realized.

_She had no eggs on the table._

Did Emery use it for his breakfast while she was doing laundry? Probably. The man suddenly had a craving for eggs in the past week, she wouldn't be surprised.

Ceony massaged her right temple, debating on what the hell she was going to do now. The store couldn't be open right now, could it? She checked the time again. 10:45. The storekeep, Peter, would be closing soon. A buggy would take too long to get here, let alone take her to the store. She thought back to the shoes she had used with the rubber enchantment. She supposed that would have to do. Careful not to make any more noise than needs be, Ceony carefully walked up the stairs yet again and went to her old bedroom, which was now collecting dust ever since she moved. She picked up the shoes from the corner.

Ceony had promised Emery she wouldn't do these things anymore, again, one night while they were just laying in each other's company. She hazily pulled out the memory from her large index of pleasant ones.

_"I'm worried." Ceony said as Emery held her in his lap, one arm wrapped around her waist and another holding a book. Ceony herself held one, though her mind had slipped elsewhere. They were just sitting, a comfortable silence wrapped around until Ceony spoke._

_"About what?" Emery asked, placing the book down and burying his face in her hair, which was not in a braid, for once. Ceony placed her own book on the table and sighed._

_"Magician Aviosky- I mean, Patrice," She still had to get used to calling different magicians by their first names. "Hasn't told me about what she plans to do with the information. It's been plaguing me for a while now."_

_"Patrice will make the right decision, Ceony. There's no point in losing sleep over it." He reminded her lightly, enjoying her presence._

_"That's what I'm afraid of." She responded. "I know it's so wrong, but... I love being able to switch between all these different elements. Even doing it in secret now, it's exhilarating-"_

_"Ceony." He turned her so she was facing him. Ceony saw the clear cut worry in his eyes, breaking her heart. "Please, promise me that until Patrice and Alfred make their decision, don't do...that anymore. We finally got to a safe point in our lives and I don't want to lose you over something that ridiculous. Please don't. For me."_

_Ceony bit her lip, "I promise." The words tumbled out of her mouth, despite her probable inability to keep that promise in the first place. She hated how much she did that. She just didn't want to see him hurt anymore, but even then, she'd only end up hurting him regardless._

Yet Ceony really wanted this to be special, ignoring her promise. Putting the shoes on, she went back into the bedroom they shared. Emery was still asleep, a worried look on his face, but he was still asleep nonetheless. Perhaps he was having a bad dream? She quickly changed into something more appropriate to go out of town with and grabbed her purse. Once she felt satisfied with her appearance, she walked out the front door, feeling the rain on her forehead as she looked up. With these shoes, it would take at least 5-10 minutes, opposed to the longer times it would take with a buggy. Clutching the new necklace she had created, she changed her bond to rubber.

"Quicken, times two." She murmured. She would get him that cake. She had to. No damn storm was going to stop her endeavors.

She would never get used to the feeling of running so quickly, her shadow having difficulty following as she ran through the quiet yet drenched streets. Only several people were still up and about, as it was a work day for many tomorrow. She turned another corner and stopped at Peter's store. "Cease." She murmured. She could see Peter counting money at his counter and she knocked on the glass, grabbing his attention. He looked up in surprise.

"Magician Twill!" Peter greeted, a grey eyebrow raising slightly. He put the money down and went to the door, unlocking it with a spell under his breath. "What are you doing here? It's so wet out there! Did you run?"

"Magician James," She greeted the Smelter, "It's Emery's birthday tomorrow. I planned to greet him with a cake, but the man seems to have used all my eggs."

"Of course Emery would." Peter sighed, "Come on in Ceony." He let her in the small shop, stuffing his hands in his pants pockets as she browsed around for the eggs.

"Thank you so much though," Ceony said as she grabbed what she needed, "My surprise would have been a bust if you weren't here."

"Well, Ceony, I'm always here late, you know." Ceony started to pull out money. "It's on the house, don't worry about it. Tell Emery I said happy birthday."

"Are you sure?" She asked, feeling the cold from her exposure to rain coming to her. She shook slightly.

"Ceony, a carton of eggs doesn't matter to me when it's as important as this." Peter said, pushing her money away. "Go on. You need time to bake too." She nodded, thanking him as she left with the eggs, placing them in her bag.

"Quicken, times two." She murmured and once again, she was traveling at a fast pace yet again. She had the slight fear the eggs would break and her trek would be for nothing, but she still managed to reach the cottage unscathed, eggs still perfect- no cracks. She opened the front door carefully, hopeful Emery wasn't waiting for her in the hallway. He wasn't. He must really be tired to not wake up with Ceony out of the bed. Ceony glanced at a clock, it was already 11 at this point. She ran her hands up and down her arms, unable to stifle the chattering that was being produced from her mouth.

Making her way back to the kitchen, she finally had the opportunity to start. She pulled out the eggs and cracked her knuckles, prepared.

When Ceony had finished, it was about 2 am. Not only did she mess up twice due to her nervousness to make the cake perfect and her shaking from the cold, she also was sidetracked by how tired she felt. Despite her drowsiness and shaky hands, she managed to decorate the cake accurately as she would like and she marveled in her work. Not bad for someone who was on the verge of passing out. She placed one single candle and lit it with a match. Feeling confident, she walked up the steps, her cake on a plate.

Ceony paused at the sight of her in one of the mirrors that hung on the second floor.

She was drenched, eyes showing signs of a lack of sleep, her hair in quite a mess; yet here she was, delivering a cake at 2 am for her beloved. She chuckled softly at her appearance and walked towards the bedroom they shared. Ceony slowly opened the door and walked towards the sleeping figure of the paper magician, grinning.

"Emery." She called, holding the cake in one hand now as she shook the paper magician gently. "Emery..." It took a few shakes, but Emery shifted soon enough.

"Mmm... Ceony?" He murmured, rubbing his eyes and opening them. His eyes went from her to the cake then to her drenched clothes. "What is all this? Why are you all drenched? Good god Ceony, did you go out there? You must be freezing." His eyes were filled with concern.

"Happy birthday." She said, a smile on her face. "I um... I took the liberty in making you a cake." Emery's eyes smiled back.

"Ceony, you didn't have to-"

"But I  _wanted_  to." She cut him off. Emery sighed, taking the cake from her, blowing out the candle, and placing it on the bedside table. He pulled the drenched young woman to him, onto the bed and kissed her abruptly. He let go after a moment. "You didn't even make a wish!" Ceony joked.

"I already have everything I could ever want." Emery responded in all seriousness he could muster at two am, "I'd rather have you instead of the cake." He said, a mischievous grin on his face, more so in his eyes.

"I ran in the rain only for you to say that? If I had only known." Ceony said, sighing as if it was a bother, as she climbed back into bed, soaking the sheets. "I would have made myself into a present. Much easier than baking and running in the pouring rain."

"We'll still eat the cake," He assured, straddling her. "Though I'd rather have an entree before I eat desert. Besides, you don't want to eat cake with me in sticky clothes, now do you?" He asked in a low whisper, chills crawling up her spine, but it wasn't from the cold.

"No, no I don't. Help me with that then, will you?" She murmured, pulling him closer for another kiss.


	11. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emery has a nightmare that events that were in the book didn't play out that way...

Emery fiddled with his coat, feeling the ring in his pocket. He watched from his own window as the scenery passed by. Of course, he snuck several glances at Ceony. She clutched her certification in her hands, the smile on her face not wavering. She finally got what she wanted.

His own smile wouldn't waver either. He was going to finally do it, what he wanted as well. He watched as the scenery sped by and he felt a sting in his chest. He was really nervous, he just noticed that.

"Where are we going?" She asked as the buggy turned to a dirt road.

"You'll recognize it." He said, seeing Ceony try to figure out where they were going. It amused him. This was a special place in his heart, so for sure, Ceony had to have see it previously. But at least now, he could fill the empty space and replace it with Ceony, rather than merely having the hope of a family.

The buggy stopped and he got out, extending a hand for Ceony, who graciously took it. He led her up the hill carefully, feeling the sweat appear on his forehead. He was so nervous, but he wouldn't let Ceony see it. He stopped when they reached the familiar maroon-leafed tree he knew all too well.

"I love you." She said and Emery only sighed, his eyes smiling.

"I believe I'm supposed to be doing the talking, Miss Twill." He said, releasing her hand and bringing himself closer, his hands on the corners of her neck. "You're the kind of woman that makes me want to believe in God, Ceony. I don't know how else it could be possible to find you. For heaven's sake, you even delivered yourself on my front door." God, this sounded incredibly cheesy, but Ceony smiled, so he must be doing something right. "How many men can honestly say a woman has walked their heart? But I can and if you'll have me, I'd like you to stay there." She started to tear up. He was still probably doing something right.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his intricately Folded loop of violet and white paper about the width of his fist. The ring he had chosen a few days previously hung from it, the diamond and emeralds glimmering in the sunlight.

He slipped the ring from the loop and turned it in his hands. He dropped to one knee and held it up to her, asking, "Ceony Maya Twill, will you marry me?"

The moment felt legendary.

"No."

Then it was not.

"W-what?" He stuttered, looking at her. He was confused.

"I can't." She said, "I just can't. I'm sorry."

* * *

He jolted awake, falling onto the wooden floor with a loud thud, crying out in surprise. Ceony woke up as well, shocked at the blankets that had started to slide to the left. "Emery!"

"Oh thank the heavens." Emery said, sitting up. He rubbed the back of his neck, fishing for the matches in the drawer. Once he had found them, he lit a match and lit the candle on his bedside table. Ceony looked concerned, glancing down at him.

"Did something happen? You almost gave me a heart attack." Ceony said, getting out of bed to help him up. He graciously took her hand, rubbing his back now.

"I had a nightmare." He admitted, picking up the blanket and placed it onto the bed. The two stood in silence and Emery sighed. "You rejected my proposal." Ceony blinked, looking at him like he was joking.

"Is that what the fuss was all about?" Ceony said, a smile dancing on her lips. She started to laugh. Emery's brow furrowed. The door to the bedroom slightly opened and two boys looked into the room.

"Mum? Dad? What was that noise?" The taller one asked, frowning.

"Oh, Bristol, Alexander." Ceony said, walking over to them. "It's alright. Your father merely had a nightmare. Go back to your room, okay?" She kneeled down and kissed them both on the forehead. The two nodded, deciding not to ask any questions to avoid any troubles. They closed the door carefully. Ceony turned her attention back to Emery as she walked back over. "My goodness, Emery Thane. I expected your nightmares to be less...mundane." Ceony said, wiping a tear from her eyes. "You've fought so many things and yet that's the thing that perturbs you."

"It's not funny Ceony." He said with upmost seriousness. Ceony studied him carefully and lifted her hand to show her ring. It glimmered in the candlelight.

"If I had rejected you, I wouldn't be standing here right now." Ceony said, "If I had rejected you, they wouldn't exist." She said, referencing to the two children. "If I had rejected you, it would have been a very stupid decision. I probably wouldn't be as happy as I am today."

"I would have probably tried to gain your love." Emery said, "But I think I've already done that, my dear."

"How modest of you." Ceony said, climbing back into bed, facing him.

"I am your modest husband after all." Emery said, following in suit. He sat up in the bed, running a hand through his hair.

"Mmhmm." She murmured in agreement, closing her eyes. Emery adjusted the blankets to cover her and himself. He looked at her sleeping face, admiring her complexion before blowing the candle out and falling asleep peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my endings are so poor...


	12. Pastry Class

The only reason he was doing this was because Patrice wanted him to go out. Patrice, as she was practically family to him, got him to begrudgingly take a pastry class. One pastry class, she said, it would be good for him, she said. He wore a simple white button up and black slacks, hoping that was enough as he strode through the door. He didn't really need to be worried, as most of the other students were also similarly dressed if not underdressed.

He walked over to his station, noting that he was the only slightly older student, while most were around their early twenties to mid twenties. The young girls around him whispered and murmured about how he was supposedly cute, or something along those lines, while the young men stayed silent. It wasn't until the teacher stepped in that they all shushed.

The young woman strode in, hardly glancing at the students as she dusted off any excess dirt off her clothing. She wore a simple outfit, with an apron covering her bright blue dress. Her orange hair was in a braid, which worked very well for her facial structure. He couldn't help but stare, just like most of the other boys. She wasn't necessarily the prettiest person in the entire universe, but she was definitely someone to look at, if one liked her features. They were unique and different, something you don't really see everyday. She smiled towards the students, her eyes landing on Emery for a moment longer before she addressed the entire class.

"Good morning, I see all of you are ready. That's great, as last period didn't seem to know what they were doing. My name is Miss Twill, but please, call me Ceony, and I'll be teaching you all the wonders of baking." She commanded the class, grabbing the attention of everyone, including Emery himself. "Please, don't think you need to be perfect at baking and cooking. There is no grade, what matters is how well you want your food item and if you like it. The soufflé isn't the soufflé, the soufflé is the recipe, which should be to your tastes only. If you are of a sweeter tooth, that's fine. If you prefer bitterness, that's fine. It's on you." The students nodded, Emery included. It was quite the short blurb of empowerment for those who probably felt doubtful in their cooking expertise. Emery knew that his creations were very much terrible, all he could really make were sandwiches. He hoped he could make something decent. She continued on to speak.

"Now, today, we will be creating a simple dish, a pie. Not some simple pie you can buy from the shop, but a special one, from your own recipes, but the template will be from me. You can customize it if you feel as though it should be sweeter or different. You can't however, customize the temperature. We wouldn't want any of you getting food poisoning or something like that." A short chuckle from the students, "Now, underneath your workplaces, all the needed ingredients are there, proportioned for you." He listened intently, "I take it you've all washed your hands." A beat passed, "Now, wash your hands if you haven't already." Nobody moved. "Now, please." Although it was a demand, her voice was soft to the point that everyone who did not wash their hands stood, besides Emery, who already did. She was a soft spoken young woman, yet held a fire in her eyes for cooking.

As everyone washed their hands, Ceony and Emery eyes met. His dark emerald eyes met her bright blue ones and she smiled.

"At least you followed the directions, Mr. Thane." An eyebrow raise from him, "Ms. Aviosky told me you'd be joining me. I couldn't help but take a bit of a peek at your old files." She smirked and Emery felt a grin come along. She was into bantering; he could tell.

"You couldn't even wait for me to meet you properly?" He asked and he didn't even notice the students stand still by the sink, watching this encounter.

"I was curious...not my fault that Ms. Aviosky made you sound wonderful." She looked towards the class, who snapped from their stupor, "Now, to your seats please. There are several different fruits in the fridge, also proportioned. I will be using blueberries, but if that isn't to your fancy, there are strawberries and other fruits to the side." Emery followed her instructions, extremely carefully. Some people even had some questions, which helped his understanding. He personally wasn't a fruit man, but he chose blueberries and took all her words to heart.

He didn't even notice her begin to walk around until she was behind him, taking his hand and helping him stir properly.

"You're going too fast, Mr. Thane. It has to be slow, but the pressure applied should be strong." She explained, placing pressure down onto his hand and helping him stir the mixture. The sweet smell of fruit emanated from her hair and it was intoxicating. He frowned. It was his first day. No need to be like that.

Once he got the hang of it, she walked off to help the other students. By the time Ceony got back to her own station, he mixed it to the best of his abilities. Although Ceony was behind due to her analysis of the techniques of others, they all watched as she expertly stirred the mixture quickly and the pressure she applied was obvious due to the strain of her arm muscle. She smiled to the class as she continued to stir.

"I wouldn't really recommend going at that pace if you don't know what you're doing. I attempted it first time, baking my mum's pie and it created quite the mess." Ceony said, chuckling to herself as the memory came to her mind, "Now, the fun part..."

* * *

 

Ceony stopped approaching him until the very end, when they finished most of the steps and all that was left was the heating process. She told them to pop their creations in the ovens on the side and told them they could be on their phones, which most students gladly appreciated. Ceony was cleaning her workstation and Emery stood idly, shifting his weight between his toes and the heels of his feet, unsure what to do. He didn't really want to use his phone, as he wasn't much of a fan.

He remembered that he brought some origami paper in his pocket, so he pulled that out. He decided he'd make the stereotypical swan, just to exercise his organic muscle. Two steps in and he caught the attention of the teacher, who came forward and watched him fold the swan to life.

"Are you trying to be like one of those artsy men?" She inquired. He looked up, an eyebrow raising as he finished the last crease.

"What do you mean?" He inquired.

"Well, you're taking a pastry class and then right now you're folding origami. What's next, painting?" A hint of amusement shined through his emerald eyes, "Really?"

"I dabble in it, here and there. I'm not all that great." He shrugged, taking her hand and placing the small swan on her palm.

"That's what all good artists say." Ceony retorted.

"It just helps the extra time I have." He left out the bits as to why he had all the extra time and was glad Ceony didn't question it.

"I see." She smiled to him again as the timers went off. "Alright class, take out your pies." Emery was closest to the ovens and pulled his out first, the smell of blueberries emanating from his own. He stared at it as he walked to his station, but some dimwit left some excess egg whites on the floor. Emery slipped on them and he made sure his pie landed on a hard surface as he ended up slipping onto Ceony. She yelped as his body fell onto hers, but with quick reflexes, he managed to grab ahold of the counter and the back of the young teacher's back, preventing her pretty head from smashing onto the hard flooring. He thanked the stars that his other foot was so coordinated and didn't slip in the egg white mixture on the floor. Her eyes stared up to his, her cheeks turning a bright shade of red and although he wasn't much for facial expressions, he knew his held much embarrassment. He hadn't been this close to a woman in ages.

"Miss Twill, I sincerely apologize." He murmured, staring down at her as he helped her to a standing position.

"No, no, it's nothing." They both dusted off some invisible dirt, as though to avoid speaking. The students had watched the exchange, even a few had their phones out. One glare from Ceony and they put their phones away. Ceony walked to her work station, where someone already placed her pie out.

"This is personally my favorite part. Decoration and taste." She pulled out a can of whipped cream, "you can choose how you'd like to have your pie. I personally like whipped cream and bananas. Emery himself just like the taste of whipped cream, so he did a bit of a design of clouds with the whipped cream. He could see some students do similar things, while some just put fruits on top. "And the best part, you can grab a knife, fork, and plate. Try your own creations!" Emery cautiously took those items and took a slice for himself, the blueberry dripping from the creation. The smell of fruit emanated from the multiple pies. He took a bite and smiled. For once, it wasn't rubbish. Sounds of approval spread throughout the classroom.

"I'm glad you all were successful." Ceony took a look at her watch, "And that's a wrap, you may take your brand new creations for lunch. Thank you all for coming and I hope to see you next week." The students packed up and Emery stood a bit, still savoring the flavor of his pie. It was different. He loved it, actually. By the time he finished his slice, he was the only person left. Ceony was watching him eat in amusement.

"I take it that you enjoy your pie?"

"It's the first thing I've ever made that isn't burnt." She laughed at that.

"I'm glad. We'll be covering arctic rolls next, for a bit of a challenge. Pies were just an introduction to see if anyone would lose it."

"And nobody did."

"For now, at least." She sighed. "Go on home, Mr. Thane, but do come next week." She paused. "Bring some origami paper too. I want to learn something."

"Thought origami was something only artsy men do?" He asked, picking up his pie.

"I might have changed my mind." She said, "Goodbye, Mr. Thane. See you next week." He nodded and walked out. For once, he found something to look forward to.


	13. Sleeping Arrangements

To be fair, neither of them chose to correct the man at the counter, who immediately counted them as a couple and gave them a key to a room with a large king bed. So, really, they _deserved_ everything they got with the cozy little room. The bed had taken up a good chunk of the room, but there was still enough space to move around. Besides the living quarters, there was a small bathroom, but that was it. The two bed sharing occupants, however, were hardly thinking about the dimensions of this room. Instead, rather, they were thinking about how screwed they were.

Emery was calculating how he'd be able to sleep in this bed without touching Ceony by accident, as surely, he didn't want to have an odd conversation in the middle of the night. She was his apprentice. No need for that...regardless of what they had shared already. He had suggested the floor twice already, but Ceony wouldn't comply and refused to let him, explaining that he needed his rest properly. She, then suggested the floor, but he wouldn't budge for the same reasons, so really, they were at a stalemate. So Emery had to work with what they placed in front of them, unfortunately.

Ceony, on the other hand, felt her pulse quicken and her cheeks flush as she thought of all the scenarios in her mind. She loved him, ever so much, yet they would never cross any boundary. Not like this. They kissed in front of the station, but then what? They never really properly discussed the...moment, as Ceony just recovered from her attack with Grath and her studies never really gave them time to discuss. Emery was seldom in speaking with her as well, after it. He had made sure she made a speedy recovery from the hospital, but then that was it. He wouldn't tell her what was going on underneath his emerald eyes.

Before, Ceony had attempted to bring up the topic, but each time, they were interrupted and Ceony's confidence would deflate. She had tried several hours ago, but Alfred called for them to go on a two hour buggy trip south for some conference about capturing the three most deadly Excisioners and what techniques they had used. Emery had agreed, after some coaxing from Ceony, who was excited to get out of the cottage. 'You could use some of the outside air!' and 'It'll be fun.' How wrong she was.

Perhaps this could be worse than fighting an Excisioner: sharing a bed with Emery Thane.

"We might as well call it a night. We don't want to arise at the wrong time." Emery prompted and Ceony snapped from her little daydream, nodding slightly. "You can use the bathroom first." Ceony nodded again, sighing through her small bag she had brought for some nightwear. She found the garments and trudged into the bathroom. Once it was shut, she looked towards the mirror and saw the redness of her cheeks, greatly contrasting her olive skin. Great. She sunk down to the floor, covering her face with her hands.

This was going to be an interesting evening.

* * *

Once the two had made each other comfortable and washed up, Emery enveloped them in complete darkness with a blow to the candle, except for the trickle of moonlight that made its way through the curtains. Ceony shifted uncomfortably, moving as far as possible from Emery, despite the cold she felt, regardless of the covers. Emery was set on the same quest and was also plagued with the same longing. He wanted to hold her in his arms, but that was improper. He couldn't go that way, so he lay there, thinking up Folds and spells, doing his best to ignore the sleeping female to his left.

An hour ticked by and Ceony starting to sweat as her night went on. Although she fell asleep easily, that didn't mean good dreams came just as well.

_She was walking down some path. Destination? She wasn't sure, it could be anywhere. It was dark, but she could spot Mg. Aviosky's house in the distance. She was inexplicably drawn to it, despite the clear feeling of dread that lingered around her body, especially after what had occurred. She opened the door to the silent home and it opened with ease. Due to her amazing memory, every little detail was absolutely precise, down to the shoes that were perfectly placed to the side on the right and the chipping of the wood near the staircase. Her feet had a mind of their own, leading a trek down to Mg. Aviosky's mirror room. Her hand reached for the doorknob and she could hear whispers. They belonged to a disembodied voice of her fears, as she recognized it from her nightmares with Anise. The thoughts of doubt came trickling in, just like it always did with every single night._

_'You weren't fast enough.'_   
_'You could have saved her.'_   
_'Why did you stand still?'_   
_'You should have known.'_   
_'She's just like Anise.'_   
_'It's your fault.'_   
**_'All your fault.'_ **

_Ceony pushed the door open, only to be met with the sinister look of Grath, with his large hand pressed onto Delilah's face._

_"You're too slow, pet." Grath said, a nefarious smirk on his face as he took the life out of Delilah, who had silent tears running down her face, begging for Ceony to save her. She didn't do anything. She couldn't do anything._

_She was useless._

Ceony cried out, waking herself up as well as which shaking up Emery from his Folding pattern ideas. She sat up quickly, her eyes wide in the darkness. She was hyperventilating, she knew that, but she couldn't calm herself down- especially because of how recent the event the nightmare chose to latch onto. The rustling of the blankets as Emery lit a candle and hugged her from behind, completely ignoring his whole gentlemanly conduct and only caring to comfort Ceony. Emery then turned her around and whispered sweet nothings into her ear, ones filled with love and honesty, allowing her to cry on his shoulder. She wanted nothing more than to remain in his embrace until the end of time, the light smell of his aftershave hitting her nostrils, being completely comfortable with his warmth.

"Shh," he whispered, rocking Ceony gently. "Everything's alright. Nothing is going to harm you. Nobody is going to hurt you. I'm right here, Ceony. Everything's okay. Do you want to tell me about your nightmare?" He asked gently to the still shaking Ceony.

"Grath," she breathed, more tears spilling without hesitation. Emery stroked her hair lovingly, the borders between mentor and student now shattered. "He...he killed Delilah. He's just like Anise and I just...I-,"

"I know, I know. I'm so sorry, Ceony." Emery murmured, "I'm so sorry. But he's gone. We stopped him. It's okay."

"I'm scared, Emery." She admitted openly, "What if-,"

"What if nothing. Grath is gone and Saraj has been captured. Nothing will harm a single strand of hair atop your head." He moved Ceony so she was facing him. "If something happens, I will protect you, for you are the one thing I care about."

A small smile crept onto Ceony's face as his words warmed her heart. Although she already knew that Emery would protect her, just hearing it from his lips made her happy.

"Thank you." She said as he wiped the tears off her face in a loving manner. It appeared to be so natural between the two to anyone else. "Sorry, I must look like a mess."

"You are magnificent, Ceony." Emery murmured, "In the light, darkness, or anything, you aren't a mess." He kissed the top of her forehead in adoration. She looked to him, before tentatively kissing him on the lips. Soft lips meeting chapped ones along with the slight taste of salty tears. He didn't oppose to the kiss, but returned it instead. It took them a few beats before Emery pulled away. She felt dizzy, just like he did. They both wanted more, but neither didn't want to step over the line- even if in all technicalities, they already did.

"Sorry." She murmured, cheeks turning a bright shade of red. "I know you don't want to..." He hushed her with a finger to her lips and smiled.

"It's okay." Emery sighed, "We have a big day ahead of us. If any nightmares plague you, I'm right here."

"Can you..."

"Yes?" He asked, his emerald eyes twinkling in the soft light.

"Can you hold me?" She requested, "I...I mean, we don't have to, I just..."

"It's fine. Hold on." He moved to the side slightly and blew on the unlit candle, shrouding them in darkness besides the moonlight. He motioned for her to lie on his shoulder, to which she did. He carefully wrapped an arm around her and she did the same. In minutes, the tension they had released and their legs intertwined, bringing them to a comfortable embrace.

The night continued on with no nightmares, just the two of them in each other's embrace until the end.


	14. The Music Magician

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A musical approach to this lovely series. No magic, but hey, the magic is in the music. *badum tiss* Also this story in general is super cringy- like jeez, why did I spend so much time on such cringe-
> 
> It's best if you listen to each song as the time goes on. You'll probably listen to ten seconds of the song and be finished with what I described. Regardless, I hope the music choices I made, despite being very lame and boring, were alright for you. I'm not really a musical prodigy, but I have four cousins I see often that play quite well. I also busied myself on this cruise (THIS CRUISE WAS IN AUGUST OF 2017, THATS HOW LONG I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS WHAT) when I could get away from my family, to watch a piano player and a violin duet. They play separately, but I was able to scrape up what it looks like to play, I suppose? I'm not really good at describing-
> 
> And it probably makes no sense, but hey, I tried. Emery also gets a little OC in the end, no hate thanks :,)

 

Ceony Twill was always a fan of the musical arts. She did not delve into the topic much on a regular basis, but when prompted, she could go on a spiel that would last for ages on different pieces and creations that were her favorites or perhaps even show how she was well-versed in playing a multitude of instruments. She would often proclaim how her favorite instrument to play was the violin and how it was her first ever instrument she touched.

Ceony was well known as someone who could memorize music sheets in the span of an hour. People would ask her hurriedly to accompany them in talent shows or anything of the sort last minute. Yet, every time she played with someone, nobody sparked her any interest. It wasn't that they were terrible with the craft, it was just that she didn't find anything...sparkling about them.

"Miss Twill."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Aviosky. Did you say something?" She glanced up at her. Ms. Aviosky was her clarinet teacher several years back. They kept in touch often, as Ceony would always come to her for advice or anything, really. This time, however, Ms. Aviosky requested her presence.

"I have a friend who needs your help." Ms. Aviosky said, "He needs a violinist."

"What am I accompanying?" She asked.

"A piano. Emery Thane, have you heard of him?"

"Emery Thane." Ceony paused, "No, I don't believe so." Ms. Aviosky raised an eyebrow, as if it was a shock to not know him.

"Well, he needs your help. He's performing for the Tagis Praff board along with several hundred people." The Tagis Praff board consisted of many high ranking officials in Ceony's dream school, people Ceony looked up to. She gaped at Ms. Aviosky.

"The Tagis Praff board?" Ceony asked, ignoring the amount of people mentioned. Ms. Aviosky nodded. Tagis Praff owned a school that only the most prestigious musicians could attend. Ceony only dreamed of stepping into the school, but if she did this, she might give a good impression. Maybe Tagis would even let her into the school for a year or so, on scholarship. Just one solid year would be a blessing as it is.

"The one and only. He's an esteemed teacher there, but he may have lied a little too well." Ms. Aviosky chuckled slightly at the memory. Ceony raised an eyebrow.

"What did he do?"

"Well, he decided it was a good idea to tell Tagis that he could play the piano and would be able to have a violinist with him this year." Ms. Aviosky fiddled with the hem of her skirt, "He can play, beautifully, but the violinist part...he didn't think it through. The person he originally asked to play isn't even in the country right now. Tagis is absolutely smitten with people that can play. I've seen it when I attend the banquets."

"I can handle that. Do you have the music?" Ms. Aviosky nodded, handing her the sheet music. Ceony smiled as she skimmed through _Liebeslied_ , or Love's Sorrow by Fritz Kreisler. She knew this song like she knew the back of her hand. "What time should I be there?"

"Six o'clock. Emery wants to practice with you in the music hall first. I'd recommend wearing a white dress. Emery coordinated something." Ceony only hoped this Emery was of decent caliber. She nodded at Ms. Aviosky and thanked her for the opportunity.

* * *

 

Ceony took her first step into Tagis Praff's School of the Musically Inclined and the first thing she heard was soft piano music, despite the loud conversation all around her. She automatically recognized the song as _Clair De Lune_ by Claude Debaussy. One that she often played when she was nervous. Though the way this person was playing it, the emotion was so adamant. She found her legs slowly making their way towards the beautiful playing, her hands fumbling to take out her own instrument.

Once she reached the music room, she found a man sitting at the grand piano, eyes closed as he played. His black hair didn't appear to be combed, despite his formal attire. He wore a black tuxedo with a white tie, though he wore an indigo coat over the whole combo. Strange, to say the least. Ceony stood in front of the piano and she followed at a moment she felt a violin would be appropriate. She opened her violin case quietly, taking out it's contents and waiting for a moment, then following in suit of the man's playing.

The man's eyes opened at the sound of her violin's first note and they locked eyes, his emerald ones with her sky blue ones. His emerald eyes seemed sad, with a hint of excitement. His emotions seemed to spill into the piano, like a painter and their paintbrush. The colors flowing with deep somber tones. Ceony followed along for the ride, allowing herself to fall into this feeling.

It was if the two had a silent mutual understanding, as their playing began to intensify in the first half. The two competing against one another like two fireworks trying to get high in the sky first, but both would reach their climax regardless.

As the playing softened toward the end, the two smiled at one another, finishing their last thirty seconds of their sweet duet.

"Ceony Twill, I presume?" The light baritone asked and Ceony nodded, her head slowing down from the rush. "You play beautifully."

"Likewise...Mr. Thane." She guessed and he nodded.

"You can call me Emery." His eyes glimmered with curiosity. "I would ask about yourself, but I think it would be best to just play it out, hm?" Ceony paused, then realized what he meant. He wanted her to express herself with a song. Out of everything, she decided to play _Bach's Chaconne_ , or rather _Partita No. 2 in D Minor_ by Johanne Sebastian Bach.

She watched his reaction at her first note. He stuffed his hands in his indigo coat pockets, examining her every step. A song like this shows determination, prowess, and all the sort, but with feeling of deep grief. Something Ceony would like to be shown to her superiors, to prove her worthiness as well as her own human nature she had.

 _Bach's Chaconn_ e has raw emotion of grief, something Ceony held in her heart after her best friend, Anise, had passed on. She may enjoy playing her instruments, but really, Ceony plays for her lost best friend, ever since they both took up the art years ago. Ceony allows Anise live through her- even if she didn't live now. It was often the piece she played when she wanted to warm up, or perhaps get lost in her playing.

Emery closed his eyes after a minute, listening to every second with his full attention. She had expected him to cut her off, as every musician knows what impression this song gives out, but Emery was keen on listening.

She flawlessly played the violin, her hands deftly moving her bow in different multitudes of directions, similarly to a writer with a fountain pen. A thin layer of sweat started to form on her lily white skin and she smiled through. This seventeen minute violin solo was nothing more than child's play, in Ceony's thoughts.

As the song came to a close, Emery's eyes fluttered open. She looked at him with anticipation. His eyes shown a small look of worry.

"You're crying." He pointed out, standing up and handing her a handkerchief. Ceony touched her cheeks and looked to his offering.

"I had no idea." She gratefully took the handkerchief, dabbing her tears away to avoid any further embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry, I just got carried away."

"Don't be. Music took you up and away. I'm surprised you chose that piece." He said, "Such grief for a young beautiful woman like yourself." She felt her cheeks redden.

"W-Well, I pursue music over a grief I hold in my heart." She explained. He nodded, like that was all he needed.

"I'm just glad you're joining me, let alone on such short notice. Are you nervous?" He inquired, smiling softly.

"A little," She sighed, holding her violin and bow a little tighter and wiped her brow with the other hand. "It's the Tagis Praff board. My dream school's top administrators. Even if they don't know my name, I'm still equally as terrified."

"Tagis Praff's your dream school? You could aim so much higher." Emery crossed his arms, "Tagis is a good school, don't get me wrong, but with your playing, it could land you in better places."

"I would try, but..." Ceony bit her lip, "The scholarships ended months ago. Even if I wanted to go to a different school, I don't have the money to go to higher places. I missed it, I...had other things. So I'm probably taking up my second interest, cooking, if I can't scrape up the money before school starts at Praff." Emery's eyes showed sincere worry, as well as a glint of an idea, but it was a brief moment.

"I see. Well," He glanced at his watch, "Perhaps things will work out for you. Let's head out then, shall we Ceony?" Before Ceony could even speak, Emery took her wrist and led her through the school, his long coat trailing behind him. She struggled to keep her violin case on her back and hold her instrument in her hands without dropping it.

The first thing she took notice was how large the place was as they slowed down. It was the size of at least a football field and some, filled with tables and a large stage in the very front. Many waiters and waitresses were running about, assisting their rich guests. Without even searching, Ceony could see Tagis Praff himself near a side table, speaking to someone. Emery followed Ceony's gaze and smiled.

"There's the man." Emery chuckled, "The nicest person in this room. Besides me, at least." His eyes narrowed at the man speaking to Tagis. "There's Sinad Mueller. Stay away from him. He's absolutely horrid in his musical expertise."

"How so?" Ceony questioned as Emery led them to the back.

"He hides behind that giant pile of pounds he always has. Frustrating, really." Emery's eyes narrowed, "He deserves none of it." He paused, "I think he's just over-compensating for something." Ceony got his joke immediately and the two shared a laugh.

"I see the two of you are getting along." Ceony jumped towards Emery, surprised at Ms. Aviosky's voice coming from behind her. The two turned around.

"Patrice, were you dragged into this too?" He asked, motioning towards Patrice's case in her hands.

"He asked me last minute. Luckily, my clarinet was in my office." She noticed Ceony's instrument in her hands. "You do know that you don't need your instrument, right?"

"Hm?" Ceony looked up at Ms. Aviosky.

"You don't need your instrument. I was going to actually provide it." Emery said, "But I did learn about you, so it worked out in the end." He glanced at Ceony and smiled warmly, more in his eyes rather than his facial expression, but Ceony paled regardless. She always used her trusty violin, as it was her very first instrument. Emery noticed. "Are you alright with that?"

"Peachy! Just peachy." Ceony assured. Emery nodded warily and walked away, only to come back with a 'paper' violin case. It looked like it was made of paper and extremely fragile. Emery set it down on a table besides them and opened it, revealing a flawlessly crafted paper violin and bow, laminated onto the wood of the instrument. Ceony stared in awe.

"I'll be using a 'paper' piano myself." He noticed the surprise in Ceony's eyes, "Did Patrice not tell you about my inventive ways of wooing an audience? Hand crafted by yours truly." He put on a smug expression and Ms. Aviosky rolled her eyes.

"I thought it would be best put as a surprise." Ms. Aviosky responded, crossing her arms. He lifted the violin and bow from the casing, as if it was delicate glass. Ceony watched as Emery played a few notes and Ceony was surprised it played just as well as a normal violin- well, she shouldn't be surprised, but it did look convincingly like paper. Emery handed it to her and Patrice took Ceony's regular violin and bow from her. Ceony took the paper items excitedly and started to play Schön Rosemarin by Fritz Kriesler, the first song to pop up in her head.

She played the first thirty seconds and stopped. Ceony smiled sheepishly. Emery smiled back at her. Patrice watched with child-like interest, a stark change from her usual demeanor.

"I thought I would have to stop you, Tagis was just about to start speaking." Emery said, chuckling. He pulled her to the side, so she could see Tagis, standing there in all his glory.

"Good evening ladies and gentleman and welcome to the forty-fifth annual fundraising banquet. If you do not know me, shame on you." Tagis earned a small amount of chuckles, "I would give you a long spiel in regards to the school, but that's not why we are here today. We are here to see the performances that I had promised you all, as well as the donation amount."

"We're near the end," Emery whispered to Ceony, "It's apparently because I end the performance list beautifully. Something of that sort."

"We'll just have to see about that." Emery chuckled at Ceony's response, but did not reply. Tagis first introduced Ms. Aviosky, the first performer of today. She played _Time Pieces: Introduction Andante Molto_ by Robert Muczynski. Often accompanied by piano, but Patrice chose to be a soloist. The piece earned her a great amount of applause. Ms. Aviosky was an amazing teacher and even greater performer, Ceony learned that back when she was under Ms. Aviosky's watchful gaze.

Each performance continued, though Ceony paid them a small amount of attention and focused more towards this paper violin that was now in her grasp.

The paper violin seemed to have taken ages to create, let alone a paper piano. Ceony wondered how Emery would have had that done. Each curve and area of the violin and bow perfectly covered by the paper without any sort of flaw. Ceony wondered what other things this man could make.

"Didn't you say you were a teacher here?" She asked her partner. He glanced over to her.

"I didn't, but Patrice probably did. Yes, I teach the art and history of music. Boring as it is, I tie in actual art. I'm rubbish at drawing, but I've always been great at origami. I use that to my advantage." Ceony was about to ask what he meant, when Tagis Praff called them up. Emery shrugged off his coat, placing it near the paper violin's casing. He adjusted his tie and outfit, wiping off invisible specks of dust. Ceony quickly did a check on her own outfit, a simple strapless white dress that fit her curves and danced in the wind near the bottom.

"And for our final performance, we have our arts and history teacher, Emery Thane." Tagis paused, "He's a bit of a showoff, as many of us know. He promised something exhilarating, so let's hope he doesn't disappoint." A short round of applause came from the audience as the two made their way to the stage, though the curtains were still closed. Ceony's eyes widened at the sight while she could.

A paper piano covered in paper origami. He didn't lie when he said he would play with one. From paper songbirds to paper dragons, the entire stage was just littered with these paper creations. The stage crew must have placed his creations all around. Emery took his seat near the piano as the curtains opened. Rounds of 'oohs' and 'ahs' came from the audience. Emery and Ceony locked eyes once more and nodded simultaneously and began to play.

The entire room seemed to relax at the first note as they watched the two musicians play Liebeslied. The raw emotion inputted from the two, one of pure nervousness and the other of pure gracefulness worked together to create something more. They did not break eye contact and yet, out of nowhere, during the end of the first minute or so, Emery winked at her. Before she could even input why, Emery started to play a whole different song, his hands deftly moving through the keys. Ceony recognized it immediately as _Flight of the Bumblebee_ by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, a classic.

Though, it was a completely different tempo, rather than the slow pace of _Liebeslied. Flight of the Bumblebee_ was supposed to stimulate patterns of a bumblebee's flight. Ceony switched, following along in suit as she pulled up the music sheets from her hazy memory, following along as much as she could. She wasn't aware he wanted her to play by ear. She thought it was just going to be _Liebeslied_. As she played the notes, she realized what he was doing. He was competing against her in this duet, to test her perhaps? Ceony was indeed known by a select few of people for her quickness and memory that was positively astounding. Perhaps Ms. Aviosky decided to tell him? Regardless, the crowd seemed to enjoy their display of musical colors. His eyes glinted with interest, as if he was testing the waters with something 'simple.'

It was a battle of dominance, to say the least. A glance at the audience proved they had their attention. Even Tagis Praff was watching her intently. The audience and Emery wanted to know if she could keep up. She was unknown to these people, but they knew Emery and he must pull things like this over and over again. She wouldn't even be surprised. He was a man of that nature, despite his quiet expressions.

She sidestepped towards her companion, playing around the piano that lay in the middle. Emery swayed slightly, as much as he could while sitting down.

And then he switched again. She obliged of course, noting his change to Mozart. It was one of his sonatas, a duet for both the piano and violin. _Number 18, in G Major, K 301._

She wondered if he would switch to a song that Ceony was unfamiliar with and would have to play by ear. It wouldn't be impossible, but she was pretty rubbish at it. She prayed she didn't.

But, this isn't a story without tension, is it?

He glanced towards Ceony with his bright emerald eyes and smiled, slowly leading into yet another song. She searched her mind for where the song was going. She thought of different possible pieces, but then, as the first proper note was played, she realized it wasn't any sort of song she heard of.

It was an _original_ piece. The unconventional way he was playing it made it clear. The surprise in the audience was obvious too.

Emery actually expected for her to switch the notes and make use of it for the violin. Although she was doing fine, she could tell that his tempo was rapidly increasing. She gulped, sweat beading down her temples as she played by ear. He seemed to have positively 0 trouble with any of this. Curse him.

He winked at her and she could tell that he was slowly reaching to the point of ending. She watched as he stood up, using one hand to still play the basic melody of the song, while the other grabbed onto a piece of paper and began to fold meticulously. She continued to play, eyebrows rising as he folded, his hand still on the piano and playing it ever so well. Several folds in, he seemed to have made a single butterfly. He threw the model into the crowd, landing onto Tagis Praff's table. He then nodded towards to people in the wings, to which they complied and began throwing out paper butterflies to the audience. Ceony had never seen such a display of pure amusement in anyone's eyes before. People caught onto the butterflies and looked at them. The origami creations seemed to have taken lots of time. How the hell did this man teach, yet manage to make all of this? She had no clue.

Emery put both his hands onto the piano now, finishing strong. He held out one last note before ending. Ceony brought her tired arms down and stared out to the audience, who clapped until they couldn't anymore. She stared at him in awe, while he held a knowing smirk. He gingerly stepped forward to her level, as they bowed together. They walked off from the stage and Tagis Praff took the reigns from there. Emery was laughing as Ceony hit his arm with her elbow.

"You didn't tell me you were going to do that!" Ceony said, seeming comfortable around Emery, despite this being the first day of their meet. It felt as though she had known him forever, judging by his music choices and how he just dropped those surprises onto her.

"I like to keep you in suspense." He responded, "You did amazingly, though."

"Only because of the pressure!" She giggled and was about to say more when Tagis Praff came backstage.

"Emery, that was an astounding performance, just like always. Do tell me you're going to clean up after yourself." He motioned to the stage and Emery just shrugged.

"You have to admit that it makes the stage look nicer." Emery smirked. Tagis rolled his eyes.

"Only you, Thane, only you." Tagis looked over to Ceony. "You were amazing. If you had no idea what was going on, I couldn't tell."

"I really didn't." Ceony blushed, smiling sheepishly.

"I thought so. Emery does this all the time with his performances. You are the first to have impressed me, though." Ceony felt her cheeks grow even brighter. She shifted her weight between her feet, looking up to Tagis. "Are you by chance a part of our program?"

"No, I...I'm in a different college right now. I come from a poorer family and I missed scholarship opportunities." She explained, "So I'm currently studying cooking, my secondary option."

"And music would be your first option?"

"Yes, sir. Always."

"Then it's decided." Tagis said simply. Ceony's eyebrows rose.

"Huh?"

"I'm taking you into the program, all expenses paid."

"You can't be serious." Ceony gaped, looking to Emery, who grinned knowingly.

"Very much so. Come to the school tomorrow, to my office. I will officiate all the papers and such. I hope it all works out." Without another word, Tagis walked off the stage and went back to the banquet.

"Impressive." Emery said, "Just one performance and you impressed him."

"I didn't-,"

"Just take it, Ceony. It isn't often he does that, if not at all." Ceony was about respond, her stomach growled loudly. She chuckled sheepishly. "I see I made you hungry. Let's go."

"Emery-,"

"Come on, Ceony." He offered his arm and she peered to him, before deciding to grab onto his arm as he led her out to the main banquet area. Different guests approached her and discussed her techniques, all of them speaking positively on it. Her first professional outing and it was already going quite well.

She smiled to herself. She was going to do something important in the music world, she knew it.


	15. Sleep, My Dear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dunno where this came from, but enjoy.

It took Ceony about five minutes to figure out that she had been rereading the same section over and over again. Although she was normally diligent and able to be quite studious, tonight just wasn't her night.

Her late night studying began after the whole Grath incident. She knew that there were no more Excisioners in the world that were particularly dangerous that could get to her, but she felt such an uneasiness that had her up late, reading from her textbook in hopes she could just study the fears away and prevent any nightmares. It helped, for the first bit, but then it grew to become a habit that wasn't necessarily healthy. She still managed to scrounge up about a bit of sleep without any nightmares, but it wasn't her recommended eight. She yawned, doing her best to reprocess the information, but to no avail. She reread the section again, forcing her eyes open when the soft clearing of a throat got her attention. She turned around and found Emery, leaning against the doorframe. The man she had kissed that day at the train station- they still hadn't talked about it, but Ceony didn't have the guts to speak to him in regards to it. Emery seemed to have kept it behind his deep green eyes of hidden secrets.

"How long are you going to continue doing this, Ceony?" His light baritone voice automatically calmed the dear apprentice, who sighed in contempt.

"I don't know." She paused, before finally adding, "I'm not tired."

"Ceony." Emery looked to her knowingly, raising an eyebrow. "You are tired."

"I am not." She claimed, turning back to her textbook. Emery got out of his position and went behind her, placing a hand on the table to balance himself. Ceony looked up to Emery, her eye bags clearly obvious from her position. She smiled softly to him, "I'm really not tired."

"I've been watching you since you started reading. You haven't turned the page so far." Emery pointed out.

"I'm a slow reader." Emery chuckled in response to that. Emery could see past the rubbish and she knew that very well. She didn't even know why she was trying.

"You know you aren't. You're fast in memory, reading, and other things." He looked towards the book, then snatched it from her grasp.

"Emery!" She said, trying to grab for the book, but he was faster, as well as much more rested.

"What were you just reading?" He quizzed curiously, glancing towards the page before staring back at her. She thought for a moment, but her mind couldn't process anything.

"The different type of chains that could be created and how to make them quickly in case of an emergency?" She made a feasible guess and Emery chuckled softly, closing the book and placing it on the other side of the table.

"Nice, but not quite. That's the section before the one you were reading." Emery said, before placing a hand on top of Ceony's pale one. She felt her cheeks grow red. "You need to get sleep. This isn't healthy for you, nor practical. I can hear you go to bed later than necessary and your magician's test..."

"It's in two years."

"True, but it's never too late to concern yourself with it." He responded with a shy grin, then looked at her seriously, "Ceony, you can study in the morning. You need to sleep. An apprentice can't continue with hours like these, along with personal studies during the day. You won't have enough energy in the morning, I assure you." Ceony grabbed onto the book he had placed away from her and opened the page she was on, attempting once more. She gave him a short glare, as what she described was actually what she was reading and he was throwing her off. Emery shook his head at the stubbornness of his apprentice.

"If only time was a magic field, I could study as long as I wanted. I wouldn't even need sleep." Ceony muttered, scanning the sentences over and over again. 'Chains are the quickest and an essential if one were to fight using paper. Although paper isn't the most durable material, it is the easiest to craft on-the-go. The first step consists of...' Emery chuckled softly in response, looking out to the dimly lit hallway.

"With that power, there would be many who would abuse it." Emery commented, "I'd love it as a field so I could..." He stopped mid-sentence as he heard a soft thunk beside him. He peered towards his apprentice, who had fallen asleep on the book, passing out from the lack of sleep. She looked like a real sleeping beauty to the man, with her mouth slightly agape and her face embodying the idea of peacefulness. "...I could look at you longer." He breathed softly, just for himself to hear. He stood up straight and moved the chair, lifting the young apprentice up from her uncomfortable position and carried her carefully.

His apprentice was quite light in weight and from their short distance, he could smell the fragrance of her soap, something he never seemed to get tired of. She instinctively brought herself to his chest a bit, as though she desired to be close to his body heat. He must be burning from keeping his flustered feelings on the inside. Fennel came closer, jumping up and down as he saw his two owners together. Emery winked towards the paper creation and motioned for it to be quiet. The paper dog complied, leading the way as Emery carried Ceony up the stairs until he reached her room.

He slowly opened it with his foot and placed the sleep-deprived Ceony on the bed, as Fennel took a place on a chair. He did his best to make her comfortable and tucked a stray strand behind her ear, then his hand just brought itself to her cheek, with his thumb stroking the delicate skin softly. She was so many things to him, just in the span of a short few months. Although he had his desire to have her as his, he would never so he could remain her mentor. He couldn't imagine watching her getting transferred away; it would be a nightmare of great proportions.

He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead, with a short whisper of, "Goodnight," He hesitantly withdrew his hand and walked off, hoping that he could survive two years of keeping his feelings locked.


End file.
